The Road to Hell (Act 1)
by Johnny-Lee Jed
Summary: The darkening of Tristram was only the beginning. The shadow of Terror spreads east, ever east...but a sanctuary is never without its guardians. (A retelling of Diablo 2)
1. Chapter 1

Kashya stood alone at the gates, cutting an imposing figure on the dirt road that led to the rogue encampment's western entrance. If her impressive stature, fierce blue eyes and resplendent chainmail didn't command enough respect, the hundred arrows bristling from the palisade at her back would. A small smile tugged at her lips as she saw the approaching caravan come to a halt a respectable distance away and a man dressed in rich blue silks jump down from the lead wagon, walking her way with hands raised in a placating gesture.

The incipient smile was quickly brought under control before it could undermine her gravitas, and it was with her usual haughty demeanor that the fiery commander of the rogues greeted the newcomer. She had of course already recognized him as one of the many merchants who regularly plied this trade route, a man named Warriv, but one could not be too careful in these evil times.

Warriv walked up to her as unthreateningly as possible, and offered her the best attempt at a good-natured smile he could muster under the circumstances.

\- "Greetings, captain! I've heard troubling news about the way east, but I did not expect such a... prickly welcome." His gaze shifted to the rows of sharp, pointy death aimed in his direction.

This time Kashya could not resist the smile that appeared at the corner of her mouth and she raised a hand to signal the archers on the ramparts to stand down. The atmosphere lightened significantly as arrows were lowered and Warriv's arms followed suit.

\- "You come in dark times, Warriv. I don't know how much you've heard, but the glorified hovel you see behind me is all that is left of our order. Our monastery has fallen and we are besieged by the same evil that drove us out. You'd best bring in your caravan quickly, this side of the river is no safer than the other. I'm surprised you even made it here."

With a nod, Warriv hastened back as the gates were opened, and the wagons made their way into the encampment. Kashya joined the tail end of the convoy, casting one last wary eye at the wilderness before she stepped in and the gates closed behind her. 

* * *

Inside, the encampment was a swarm of activity as each wagon was led to a spot to unload its goods and occupants, and the people of the camp crowded around to see the newcomers. Hard times have a way of breeding solidarity; welcoming faces and helping hands greeted the caravaneer and his fellow travelers. Kashya could tell everyone felt some relief at seeing new arrivals, but she herself carefully scrutinized every fresh face. The safety of the encampment was her responsibility, and she would not be remiss in her duties, even for an instant.

She was glad to see that the caravan came with a non-negligible number of armed guards. Mercenaries though they were, an additional sword was an additional sword. The extra supplies and able hands would also help them to endure this siege, and she even saw a few promising individuals among the passengers: some crossbowmen, a handful of pikemen that had the look and armor of professional soldiers, maybe even a couple of mages judging by their robes.

However one stood out from all the rest, and not just figuratively; towering a good head above the next tallest man, a huge warrior carrying a broad axe was awkwardly making his way through the crowd like a grown man walking amongst children, taking care not to barrel over any of the small people around him. His armor consisted of a mail hauberk under fur-lined lamellar armor, as well as greaves and bracers. Blue markings snaked their way up his arms and ran along the shaved sides of his ox-like head, which sported a short but wild mop of black hair. Symmetrically, a scruffy beard gradually grew from his shaved sideburns. His size and warpaint marked him as a northman, and though many in the south eyed his kind with fear and suspicion, Kashya knew the value of their strength of arms.

With these new additions and the two amazons that had escorted the previous caravan, her camp was filling up with capable warriors. Enough to help the Sisterhood repel the demonic attacks...maybe even enough to help them reclaim their home. She had dreamed of nothing else for the past few weeks.

Kashya was shaken out of her reverie by a gentle voice.

\- "Excuse me, are you the one who commands here?"

She turned to see blue eyes staring at her expectantly. The man they belonged to had a surprisingly youthful face, his mess of chestnut hair tumbling upon a tunic that matched his eyes.

\- "I am Kashya, and I command the rogues in battle, though Akara, our priestess, is the spiritual leader of the order. What do you need, outlander?" She tried to inject her usual curtness into that word, but something about the earnestness of his expression softened the edge in her voice.

\- "My name is Galen, and I'm a healer. I've heard of the tragedy that has befallen you and your sisters. Perhaps I can be of help?"

\- "A healer? Fortune smiles on us this day!" she said with uncharacteristic enthusiasm. "Come with me, I will lead you to Akara. She tends to the wounded".

As she started in the direction of the largest tent in the camp, Kashya wondered why she trusted this young man so easily. He looked harmless enough, but there was something about him that bothered the redhead, something that didn't fit his gentle manner. 

* * *

The big tent at the north end of the camp served as a makeshift hospital, and Galen could hear the sounds of pained moans before he even entered. Following Kashya inside, he discovered rows upon rows of sickbeds and stretchers filled with rogues; some were sleeping, some were groaning, and some were hovering between life and death. Almost all sported a visible injury of some kind, except a few who just lay there with vacant expressions, their eyes lost in some dark memory.

Moving from bedside to bedside, offering a healing hand, a poultice or a kind word, an old woman in a stately purple cloak diligently tended to each patient. Galen fell into step behind Kashya as she negotiated her way through the packed tent to reach the old woman's side.

\- "Akara, I have good news. I've found a healer among the newly arrived to help you in your work. His name is...".

\- "Galen, priestess," he finished with a small bow.

Akara studied him with eyes that spoke of many sleepless nights. Both physical and mental exhaustion were etched on her face, but there was also determination there, and compassion. She offered him a tired smile and when she spoke, her voice sounded older than she looked.

\- "Thank you, stranger, any help you can offer would be most welcome. But I wonder that one so young would have much skill in the healing arts."

Galen was already kneeling besides the patient she had been tending to, and he took a deep breath, eyes closed, hands folded as if in prayer. A soft aura began to emanate from him, its light touching everyone within reach. Akara could immediately feel some of the physical strain of the last few days lift from her shoulders; the young man placed his hands upon the bedridden rogue's wounded waist and more light poured from his open palms. The wound began to visibly heal.

Ignoring the smug look her second in command was giving her, the priestess quickly joined her newfound acolyte in making the rounds, healing battered flesh and flagging spirit with a vigor she hadn't felt in days. Kashya left them to it. Today was decidedly becoming a bright spot in a dark time. 

* * *

The day was drawing to a close by the time the two healers had finished tending to every cut, gash, tear, bruise and broken bone. Akara felt much less drained than usual; not only had she had someone to share the load with, but she found her own energies continually restored by his influence. Even now an azure aura that shimmered like starlight replenished their spent mana as they stood just outside the tent's opening.

\- "I cannot thank you enough for your aid. Your presence here gives me hope...not just for our wounded, but for everyone in this camp," she added with a knowing smile. "Already two of our Askari sisters have taken up arms in our defense. I knew it wouldn't be long before help would come from Westmarch as well. I pray you are the first of many."

\- "More will come when the news reaches them. I was already in Khanduras when I heard of your plight, and I boarded the first caravan here to offer healing where I can and my sword where I must. Though...I haven't wielded one in years." A strange look overcame Galen's features. "Some of the rumors I heard spoke of a civil war, of sister fighting against sister. What I've learned since getting here suggests a darker threat. Is it demons you face, or has your order truly turned on itself?"

\- "It is both, I'm afraid." A slight hesitation, a sigh, a deep breath. "It all began the day we welcomed two wanderers into our monastery. One of them seemed to know Moreina, the leader of the forces we sent to Tristram during its darkening. She hadn't been the same since she'd gotten back from that accursed place. I should've..." pain crept into Akara's words. "I should've known she had fallen to evil. I had sensed the darkness eating away at her heart, but I did nothing. I told myself the scars of her battle against the lord of terror just went too deep. I was too afraid to face the truth, too eager to trust in a hard-won peace, and we have all paid the price for it. My failings have brought our sisterhood to ruin." Akara's voice cracked and her entire being shook for a fleeting moment.

Galen placed a comforting hand on her slumped shoulder.

\- "Don't judge yourself so harshly. There are few things harder than to confront evil when it wears the shape of those we love. To slay a Hell-spawned demon is one thing; to strike down another human being that has fallen to corruption..." his words stumbled upon some bitter memory, and he simply shook his head and sighed. "So, this Moreina...was she behind the fall of Eastgate Keep?"

Akara's expression hardened.

\- "That night, she and her band betrayed us. We woke to the screams of sisters being hacked down in their beds by corrupted rogues and cackling demons, and more of the Hell-spawn were crawling out of the lower levels by the minute. Kashya eventually managed to rally enough of us to hold the demons at bay, but that is when she appeared." A shudder went through the priestess. "Andariel, the maiden of anguish herself, led the charge against us and tore through our ranks. We tried to fight back, but we were too stunned and disheartened by the betrayal of our own to stand before a Lesser Evil. We were forced to flee our ancestral home, and many of our bravest warriors gave their lives to allow us to retreat. As the last of us streamed into the outer cloister, I placed a spell on the doors to hold them fast and allow us to escape unhindered into the night." her gaze moved to the distance. "We've been fighting a losing battle for control of the land ever since, and the demon's numbers increase as ours diminish."

Her eyes would not meet Galen's, but he could tell there was hurt and shame there. He turned to face her.

\- "You do not fight alone. There are other forces besides the powers of Hell in this world, and where evil rears its head good rises to the challenge. I for one will do whatever is in my power to aid you. I know I won't be the only one."

Akara was about to respond when a gruff voice interrupted them.

\- "Which one of you is the priestess?"

The young healer turned around to see a beast of a man walk up behind him, casting a quizzical look at his now visible face. Galen was by no means short, but the barbarian that stood before him towered over him. Had the northman confused him for one of the rogues?

Akara stepped forward and removed her hood.

\- "I am Akara. How can I help you...?"

\- "Call me Aan. Your captain tells me demons besiege you and you are in need of strong warriors." He lifted his massive broad axe and gripped it with fierce intent. "Direct my wrath, elder. I will drown the land in the blood of your enemies."

Galen suddenly felt very naked without arms and armor. The axe loomed imposingly above him but at closer inspection, his trained eye could tell its blade was worn and its craftsmanship unexceptional; a workman's tool.

\- "We are honored that you would fight on our behalf, son of Bul-Kathos. With your help and that of the other warriors who have joined us, perhaps we can finally..." Akara's words died on her lips as a clamor went up from the camp.

The alarm bell was being sounded and rogues were rushing to a spot west of the tent. The trio followed suit to see what all the commotion was about. When they got there, they spotted Kashya barking orders to get her archers into a firing line, and Akara hurried to her side.

\- "What's going on?"

\- "The runes on the ancient waypoint have lit up for the first time in recent memory! Someone or something is trying to teleport into the camp." She lifted her hand "Draw!"

As one, the disciplined rogues drew their bows, some quivering with anxiety or anticipation. The hum of the waypoint grew stronger...


	2. Chapter 2

The space above the waypoint seemed to ripple and out of nowhere two women appeared, one supporting the other. They collapsed almost instantly. The one shouldering her companion got back to her feet and dragged both of them forward despite an arrow lodged in her own thigh. She was screaming.

\- "Help! She needs help! You have to take her to the priestess!" Akara rushed to her aid, and the rogues around lowered their bows. "Akara! You have to heal Lydia. You have to heal her!"

Galen joined the priestess in helping the two women dressed in the battle garb of the amazons, holding the one who spoke so she could lean on him while Akara lay the unconscious one on the ground. Her pale skin contrasted sharply with her black hair and with the splash of red blood that colored her throat and dripped down her armor. She felt deathly cold to the touch.

The priestess placed a finger to feel for a pulse and frowned. She started chanting and pouring healing energies on the wound. Moments passed that felt like an eternity, but Lydia did not stir. Akara looked to Galen somberly.

Placing the fair-haired amazon in Kashya' care, he knelt beside her fallen comrade and lay his hands on the bleeding throat as a bright light seeped through his fingers. Brighter and brighter it went as he focused more and more of his holy energy to try and close the wound. All his spirit bent to reach through death's door, but it was already shut. As the light faded, he hung his head above the woman's lifeless body. Her features held a peaceful expression, and he tried to find solace in that, but there was something excruciatingly beautiful and tragic about the strength and innocence of her face. He made his best attempt to steady his voice before he spoke.

\- "There's nothing I can do... resurrection is beyond my powers. I'm sorry." Respectfully, he folded the limp arms on the inert chest and uttered a prayer. "The weight of the world is lifted. Soar now beyond the reach of suffering and evil. The light awaits to welcome you home."

The amazon leaning on Kashya collapsed to her knees with an inarticulate wail that struck grief into every heart that heard it. She crawled over to Lydia, cradling her head in her lap as she sobbed.

Akara placed a hand on her shoulder but said nothing, giving time for the weeping to turn into silent tears. When she spoke, her voice was soft but insistent.

\- "Dana, I grieve for you and for the loss of our sister, but there will be time to mourn. For now, we need to tend to you or you'll bleed out. Come now," she prodded gently "we must take you to a sickbed and remove that arrow. let this be the only tragedy today."

The amazon showed no sign of acknowledging or even hearing the words spoken to her, nor did she make any move to rise.

The northman who had presented himself to Akara as Aan stepped forward and unceremoniously lifted the tall woman, armor and all, as if she weighed nothing, carrying her towards the large tent at the edge of camp. She did not resist or even react. 

* * *

The infirmary was quieter than usual. Most silently watched the newcomer being laid in a bed, her haggard eyes swollen with tears; another shipwrecked soul in the tides of fate.

Aan moved away, looking towards Akara. She thanked him with a nod and procured a small vial of brownish liquid from one of her pouches. She leaned over her newest patient.

\- "This is for the pain. I need to remove that arrow and I need you to be still while I do so. Please drink it."

Dana still made no sign of acknowledging anyone around her, but her expression grew somber. The priestess opened the vial and moved it to the amazon's lips but the latter gripped her hand fiercely. There was a sudden fire in her eyes.

\- "No. I don't need it. I don't deserve it. Just pull out the arrow".

\- "Dana you're being unreasonable. This will help..."

\- "Just pull it out." There was a finality there that Akara knew better than to argue with. She sighed.

Behind her, Galen opened the tent flap and walked over. The bedridden amazon immediately shifted her attention to him. She cast an expectant look his way, her grey eyes somehow both pleading and accusatory. The pregnant silence compelled him to speak.

\- "I've placed your friend in the care of the order's acolytes. They are preparing her body for a warrior's burial according to the rites of the Sightless Eye. I'm...I'm so sorry I couldn't do more."

Dana's expression lost its edge and she fell back into dejected silence.

\- "She refuses to take the laudanum," Akara chimed in.

Galen simply nodded and knelt to inspect the arrow wound. The shaft protruded from the side of the amazon's left thigh, right below the leather flaps that jutted from under her golden scale mail hauberk. Black tendrils spread from the point of contact; the arrow was cursed, and it would slowly kill its victim if left untreated. Placing three fingers around the shaft, he gently twisted it. There was little resistance, which meant the arrow hadn't struck bone.

He locked eyes with the amazon, placing one hand on her thigh and the other on the arrow, and waited. She nodded once, scrunching up her freckled nose and gritting her teeth in anticipation. With a practiced hand, the young man pulled out the arrow in one steady motion. The arrowhead did not break in the wound; the missile was of superior make, the same kind as that used by the rogues.

To her credit, Dana did not even flinch. Her face merely remained taut as she watched the healer's hand immediately move to stem the gushing blood and begin to glow brightly. It reminded her of dawn's first light, and the black tendrils withered before it. She could already feel the wound closing and strength returning to her limb. Soon the pain had completely disappeared, and she finally felt herself begin to relax. She had been running on nothing but adrenaline.

\- "You must rest now. Your body and mind need to recuperate, and sleep is often the best remedy." His voice held the authority of a healer to his patient, and would brook no argument. Dana would've chuckled at herself following the orders of this lad had she been in any mood to do so; the proud amazon warrior deferring to a man, one that was perhaps as much as a decade younger than her judging by his appearance. _Probably not nearly as much_, she decided as she met his eyes. There were too many years there.

Kashya walked in and stood awkwardly at the edge of the group, impatience and hesitance warring over her features. Galen frowned and moved to her side. They began speaking in hushed tones, but Dana could still make out what they were saying.

\- "I realize this is not a good time," the commander whispered, "but I need to ask her what happened. What she knows could be of vital importance to the safety of the camp."

\- "For pity's sake captain, let her rest," the healer insisted. "She has just suffered tremendous loss and needs time to heal in both body and spirit. I don't want her to become agitated, the last thing she needs right now is to relive the tragedy she just experienced."

\- "I can hear you, you know," Dana interjected. "It's alright, let her through. She's right, Bloodraven could be mustering her forces for an assault as we speak. Besides, Kashya deserves to know what happened to her scouts."

\- "Bloodraven?" the northman who had carried her asked.

\- "Her real name is...was Moreina," Kashya began. "She is the leader of our corrupted sisters. One of my scouts reported that she was raising the dead from our sacred burial grounds and might soon throw them at our walls. This was the day the amazons arrived; they had just come back from clearing a den outside our camp where evil creatures were gathering. They had proven to be formidable allies, so I decided to entrust them with accompanying my best scouts to take out the one who now calls herself Bloodraven. What happened, Dana?" she asked, turning back to the amazon. "Where are the others?"

\- "I'm sorry, Kashya. They...they fell." She paused to let the news sink in. Her eyes were downcast, refusing to look up at the rogue commander. "Everything went well at first. We crept into the burial grounds undetected, avoiding the undead milling about. When we found Bloodraven, she was surrounded by her close retinue of lieutenants, but we caught them unawares and most of them fell to our first volley. Bloodraven herself however managed to evade us and dashed behind the crypts, emerging here and there to shoot at us. We took cover ourselves and began flanking her and her remaining bodyguard, but even as we struck down some of them Bloodraven continued to elude us. I managed to hit her a couple of times but she barely seemed to register the shafts sticking out of her. She kept playing hide and seek until her undead minions closed in around us, restricting our mobility. Her own arrows began finding their mark, crippling those who were struck long enough for the zombies to catch up to them and overwhelm them. I'm...I'm sorry Kashya. We couldn't save any of them. I can still hear their screams..."

For a moment, Kashya said nothing, her face a stony mask. Only her eyes betrayed her grief. She spoke in a voice that struggled to retain composure.

\- "It's not your fault. They were soldiers, they knew the risks. You put your own life at stake to help us, and have lost much, just as we did. I'm sorry about your sister. She will be honored as one of our own."

\- "Lydia...Lydia tried to help them. She rushed to stave off the ghouls, felling scores of them with her spear as I desperately hunted down Bloodraven. I finally managed to corner her, or so I thought. She took careful aim at me as I came into view. When she loosed, I dodged her shaft and retaliated with one of my own. I hit her square in the chest, but...she simply began cackling madly as I heard a muffled cry behind me. Her arrow was never meant for me. I turned to see...Lydia with a shaft through her throat. Somehow, she...she summoned the strength to remove it, gripping the wound to stem the bleeding." Dana's voice wavered, gaining a panicked edge. "I ran. I ran to her as fast as my legs could carry me, weaving left and right to make myself a harder target. Without stopping I lifted Lydia on my shoulder and kept running. I told myself to keep running no matter what. Just keep running. I don't know how I managed to run fast enough and long enough carrying her, but the only thing that caught me was Bloodraven's parting gift." She looked meaningfully at the arrow that had been lodged in her thigh. "I thought that if I could just run fast enough, I could still save her. All I needed to do was run fast enough...I..." Dana's hands were balled up into fists, but they visibly slackened when she felt Akara's touch. "...I...I think I want to be alone now." Seeing the hesitation on the faces of the two healers beside her, she added "I'll try to get some sleep."

\- "The hour grows late," Akara agreed, ushering the others away. "We will decide what needs to be done tomorrow. In the meantime, I suggest we all get some rest. We might sorely miss it in the days to come."


	3. Chapter 3

The morning could not come soon enough for Dana. Her sleep had been deep, but a little too brief for her taste. She wished she could spend a little more time away from the reality that Lydia was gone. Her body, however, had a different idea. Restored to its full vigor, it chafed at the bit, desperate to fill the stifling silence of grief with the din of action. She gave up on falling back asleep and got out of bed, careful not to wake the other residents as she made her way out of the tent.

It was still dark outside, with only a dull glow in the eastern sky to signal the coming dawn. She distractedly fixed the braided ponytail that ran along the top of her head and down her back, which had loosened in her sleep, as she stared up at the fading stars. The Hunter was still visible but just barely, the incipient day's dim light slowly eclipsing the constellation. Soon, it would be gone entirely.

She began wandering aimlessly around camp, following her feet wherever they took her. Everyone but the sentries on watch was asleep, and she embraced the silence, melding into it, a ghost enacting a soundless vigil over the living.

She had lost track of time when she spotted a campfire already lit. It was near a caravan that hadn't been there when she had last left camp. _That must be the caravan that brought the barbarian and the healer_, she thought. As if to confirm her suspicion, she made out the aforementioned duo as she got closer. They chatted casually as a broth cooked over the fire.

She hesitated, not sure whether she was ready for company just yet, but the smell of the broth was too enticing to ignore. Her stomach was clamoring for food. She made her presence known by shuffling her feet on purpose as she walked up behind the two. They turned, and she offered them as much of a smile as she could muster.

\- "Good morning".

\- "Oh, hello...Dana was it?" The young man got up. "We never got properly introduced. My name is Galen. This is Aan. Please, join us."

\- "You're just in time," Aan said with a toothy grin. "Breakfast is almost ready".

\- "How are you f..." Galen hesitated. "How's your leg?".

Dana picked up on his failed attempt at discretion but kept her demeanor neutral as she sat down. She didn't want to face the grief yet. There would be a time and place for that.

\- "Good as new, thanks to you. It's my stomach that needs tending to now," she finished wryly.

Aan got up and proceeded to fill three bowls of the delicious-smelling concoction, offering one to each of his campfire companions.

\- "Here, this will fill you right up. It's a local recipe, guaranteed to put fire in your belly."

\- "What's in it?" Dana asked, eyeing her bowl suspiciously. It smelled wonderful but didn't look the part.

\- "Pink boar".

She turned a quizzical look towards Galen.

\- "I think he means ham," he reassured her, laughing.

Her nose overruling her eyes, she dug into the meal, and the others followed suit. They ate mostly in silence, and she took the opportunity to study her companions.

The contrast between the two was almost comical: one unapologetically confirmed every stereotype about the northmen as musclebound giants, though his bearing dispelled any notion of him being a mindless brute; he carried himself with dignity and his rugged face was friendly.

The other reminded her more of the men back home; his features held the noble beauty of Skovos' famous statues, delicately crafted effigies of Askari society's great poets, navigators, merchants, architects, orators, artists, philosophers, and even queens' "favorites", a euphemism for consorts. All depicted their subjects at the height of their youth, Dana realized; youth was highly prized in her culture.

There were no male statues of great warriors of course, only women could bear arms among the amazons. Men were more valued for their intellect, talent and beauty than for their strength. There were exceptions, men who displayed extraordinary proficiency with spear or bow, though the stories always ended with them being tamed by some amazon heroine.

Then again, there were just as many stories of Askari women sharing their bed with one of their own. The practice was widespread, especially among amazons who traveled together as mercenaries. That was how it had happened with her and Lydia. They had always been as close as sisters back on Skovos, but their relationship blossomed into love as they matured into seasoned warriors. They'd been barely eighteen when they left the isle. Now, almost a decade later, she was alone for the first time in her life.

Dana was snapped out of her reverie by a mighty clap on the back. She turned to Aan who beamed at her with a self-satisfied expression.

\- "I'll take that as a compliment, shieldmaiden," he said, eyeing her emptied bowl. She had been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized how fast she had gulped down the broth. "Would you like some more?"

\- "No, thank you, that did the trick." She tried to inject some cheer into her voice, but failed.

\- "So, the rogues told us the old stone daises that allow instant travel had been inactive since before their order was founded. We have similar devices up north from the time of the ancients, though they also lie dormant. How did you manage to use one?"

\- "I'm not sure. I stumbled upon it as I fled from Bloodraven and I acted out of desperation. As soon as I stepped on its surface it lit up. All I remember doing is picturing the waypoint I had seen here in the camp and wishing with all my being to be brought here, and somehow it worked."

\- "Do you think you could do it again?"

\- "I don't know. Maybe. All I was thinking of back then was saving..." her voice dropped to a whisper and faded.

She turned to Galen "I want to see Lydia. I have to see her before they put her in the ground."

The young man gave her a compassionate look. His voice was low and respectful, as if he spoke in church.

\- "Of course. Akara said she would wait for you to begin the ceremony. Let's go see her now."

Aan watched the two head off towards Akara's tent. He finished his bowl in one big gulp, inspected his beard to wipe away any spillage and make sure he was presentable, and followed after them. 

* * *

Lydia had been washed clean of blood and dressed in a simple white funeral garb. The acolytes carried her body to a clearing at the southern edge of camp, which served as a makeshift cemetery ever since the order's ancestral burial grounds had been overrun. A makeshift wooden casket and a humble patch of earth: that was all the rogues could afford to honor their fallen.

Akara performed the rites herself, allowing Dana a moment alone with her departed sister before she gave the signal to lower her into the ground. The sisters of the Sightless Eye began singing a dirge, part lament and part war song. It wafted around camp, its echoes filling everyone within with melancholy to match the grey skies.

When it was done, the attendants left one by one, until only Akara remained by Dana's side. The priestess placed a hand on the amazon's shoulder before walking away.

Dana didn't move. The clouds overhead crawled by indifferently but she didn't move. The world kept insolently spinning but she remained still for what seemed like an eternity.

When she finally decided to rouse herself from her inertia, she noticed out of the corner of her eye Akara and Galen standing a respectful distance away, glancing her way with concern while discussing something. She found it both endearing and irritating. She was not some abandoned child in need of care, though a part of her felt that way. She was a proud warrior of the Askari and she would wreak vengeance upon her foe.

She headed over to them, the hole she felt in her heart slowly filling with determination. When she stood before them, her back was straight and her voice was fierce.

\- "Priestess, I must speak to Kashya. We can't let Bloodraven's crimes go unanswered."

Akara looked up at the taller woman with a resigned smile.

\- "I'm afraid it can't be helped. I wish we didn't have to send young people like yourself into such danger, but these are desperate times. Come, our barbarian friend is already discussing the matter with Kashya." 

* * *

When they joined the rogue captain, she was conspicuously alone.

\- "Where's Aan?" asked Galen.

\- "I've sent him to Charsi, our blacksmith, to make sure his equipment is ready for the battle ahead. He has volunteered to take on Bloodraven." She turned to Dana. "I expect you will insist on going as well. I can't stop you, but I'm afraid I can't afford to provide you with reinforcements this time. We can't leave the camp undefended; we're stretched thin enough as it is. Bloodraven has clearly lost none of her skill and cunning, and I would rather let her and her horde smash themselves against our walls than face them in the open".

\- "You're right, your people have suffered enough," Galen interjected. "The three of us will reclaim your sacred burial grounds and end her before she can threaten the camp."

\- "The three of us?" Dana looked quizzically at the young man.

\- "I'm going with you," he stated matter-of-factly.

She scrutinized him intently before placing her hands on his shoulders.

\- "Listen, I'm grateful for your help, and I realize Lydia might still be alive had we had a healer close at hand, but there is no way in all seven Hells I'm going to allow a noncombatant onto the battlefield. I forbid you to come."

\- "She's right, friend Galen," Aan had returned, the freshly whetted edge of his broadaxe gleaming menacingly. "It's much too dangerous for someone like you. Stay here and await our return, we will surely have many wounds for you to tend to".

Akara chuckled lightly, while Galen simply offered his companions a warm, amused smile.

\- "I'm touched by your concern, my friends, but I think you'll find I can handle myself as well as either of you. I'll be right back, I need to purchase a few things from the blacksmith".

As they watched him walk away, Kashya finally realized what had bothered her about the young man's demeanor. It was in his surefooted steps, in his disciplined gait, in the eloquence and efficiency of his movements: he had the bearing of a warrior. 

* * *

Galen walked into Charsi's smithy with a practiced look of disinterest. He had often been confronted with unscrupulous traders who took advantage of his good nature, and the purse he had retrieved from his old chest was far from heavy; one did not make a lot of coin as a healer when one offered their services for free, although grateful nobles and merchants often rewarded him with silver, sometimes even gold.

The young woman tending to the forge looked honest enough, an impression that was reinforced when she noticed him and her face lit up with cheerful enthusiasm. She hurried over to him.

\- "Another customer! Good day, I'm Charsi, I handle the weapons and armor of the sisterhood. How can I help you?"

Galen's carefully constructed facade melted in the sun of her beaming expression. She was a big woman, even by rogue standards, and her blacksmith's build clashed with her childlike face. He made a last-ditch effort to inquire about armor without betraying his pressing need for it.

\- "Good day, Charsi, my name is Galen. I'd like to have a look at your stock, if you'll allow it."

\- "I remember you! You're the healer who's been helping Akara! I'm afraid my wares are more suited to the taking of life, but I supposed even holy men need protection from time to time. Whatever strikes your fancy is yours, no charge. It's the least we can do to repay you."

\- "That's...that's really kind of you, but I don't want to abuse your generosity. I require a full set of armor, and I have gold to pay."

\- "Wait, two customers in a row is no coincidence. Are you accompanying Aan out on his mission? Is that why you need protective gear?"

\- "That's right".

\- "In that case I really can't take your coin. A friend of Aan's is a friend of mine. Pick whatever you like, I insist."

Galen thanked her profusely and began browsing through his options. Meanwhile, she peppered him with questions about the northman, whom she seemed quite taken with.

\- "So what's Aan like? You're so lucky to be going out on an adventure with him!"

\- "I'm afraid I just recently met him."

\- "Oh it's so wonderful to meet one of my people, especially one so handsome." She realized what she had blurted out and blushed.

\- "Your people?"

\- "Can't you tell I have barbarian blood? Well, I can't blame you; it took me years to understand why I was so much bigger than everyone else in the order. My real parents were from the north. They belonged to the Thunder Tribe, just like Aan. They died when I was very young. I can't remember their faces anymore...but I do remember bits and pieces of the northern tongue. Though, my memory must be getting fuzzy there as well, I could've sworn Aan meant "No one"".

Galen was too busy choosing his gear to pick up on her comment. He had settled on boots with incorporated shin guards; a grey-blue gambeson over which came a knee-length leather brigandine; steel vambraces; and to top it all off, a barbute with an opening large enough to clearly show the face. Charsi helped him put it all on. She stepped away, making sure everything fit snugly, evidencing her approval with a satisfied nod.

\- "So, will you be needing weapons as well?"

\- "That's alright, I have my own. Thank you for everything, Charsi, you've been much too kind. I insist on making one last purchase with my own coin. I'll not have you starve on my account." He added as he grabbed a large helm that sported a pair of upwards curving spiral horns, clearly made in imitation of northern workmanship. It looked sturdy and expertly crafted, which meant that it wasn't cheap, but Galen paid its full price and more before bidding the smith goodbye and heading back to his wagon to retrieve the last pieces of his war gear. 

* * *

\- "I don't see why we should sneak around like thieves," Aan insisted stubbornly.

\- "Because there's a whole army of undead between us and Bloodraven," Dana replied.

\- "So? We go through them."

\- "I don't think you appreciate just how many shambling corpses we're dealing with here, barbarian. Not to mention that engaging with them would only expose us to her arrows."

\- "Then _we_ take them on while _you_ sneak in and finish her," Galen interjected as he walked up, holding a horned helm in his right hand. He looked much more impressive now that he was decked in armor. Dangling on his belt was a war scepter that looked like some artifact from a bygone age; its workmanship was superior to anything Dana had seen peddled by traders, smiths and quartermasters, and she'd been around. She could even sense a trace of magic from it, which meant it was enchanted.

In contrast, the heraldic shield on his left arm looked sturdy but otherwise unremarkable. That was until the young man turned to Aan and she got a look at the emblem on the shield: a white sea-eagle claw and lightning bolt on a sky-blue field. She had seen that symbol somewhere before.

\- "Here, try this on," Galen handed Aan the horned helm. "Charsi would never forgive me if I let anything happen to that handsome face of yours."

The northman laughed and tried on the gift, which turned out to fit him nicely.

\- "How do I look?" he asked, miming a vainglorious pose.

\- "Absolutely barbaric," replied Galen with a grin.

Realization struck Dana like a bolt from the blue, which was ironic considering that was exactly what the shield's heraldry depicted. She had finally recognized it: it was the coat-of-arms of the Knights of Westmarch. Her gentle healer was a member of one of the most celebrated military orders in Sanctuary.

\- "You're...a paladin?" she had meant for it to sound like an affirmation, but it came out as more of a question.

\- "Is that so hard to believe?"

\- "I just imagined a paladin would be..."

\- "Bigger? Graver? Righteous-er?"

\- "Older," she finished. "You're in the spring of your life".

\- "Yes, I am; the twenty second to be exact. I've already had my baptism of steel. I fought alongside my countrymen in the war against the Mad King, and I've faced my share of demons and undead since."

The amazon sized him up with newfound respect.

\- "Very well sir knight," she conceded with a smirk, "what plan of attack do you suggest?"

\- "The northman and I couldn't be stealthy to save our lives. We're more liable to rouse the dead, which is just as well because that's the plan: we go in loud and keep the zombies busy while you take out their leader. I know how important it must be for you to strike the killing blow, and I would not deny you your revenge. That is, if you feel up to the task."

\- "She's as good as dead. The question is, are you two certain you can handle a horde of ghouls on your own?"

\- "No matter their number, dogs cannot bring down a bear," Aan boasted.

\- "What he said," Galen agreed.

\- "Very well then, let's get going. Bloodraven has an audience with my arrows and I'd hate to keep her waiting."

As they walked away, Kashya spoke up.

\- "An amazon, a barbarian and a paladin. Against my better judgment I'm beginning to feel optimistic."

Akara just stared ahead, as if attempting to peer through the fog of the future with the Sightless Eye. 


	4. Chapter 4

_There you are_.

As planned, Galen and Aan had charged into the graveyard with a loud battlecry and had begun to cut down the shambling dead where they stood. The horde swarmed them but they held the line, the barbarian mowing down wave after wave with his huge axe while the paladin's scepter rose and fell like the drumbeat of a war song. They glowed like a beacon with the holy knight's golden aura of might, drawing the undead like moths to a flame.

Hiding out of sight, Dana heard her quarry before she saw her.

\- "Look, sisters. Fresh volunteers for our army of the dead".

She instantly recognized Bloodraven with her goat skull mask. She was trying to make her way around her minions to get a clear shot at the two intruders, accompanied by her four remaining lieutenants.

The amazon began stalking them, moving like a shadow among the tombstones until her prey stood still. Bloodraven had found an angle and was aiming her bow at her unwanted guests, shaping her malice into dark curses that stained the arrow tip black, but unbeknownst to her she herself was now a target.

_The hunter becomes the hunted_ the amazon thought to herself as she nocked and drew her own arrow, breathing upon it the secret name of Hefaetrus, the Askari god of fire. More and more of her mana poured into the missile, which began to glow as if with hidden embers. She held her breath in anticipation for the perfect shot, her skin sensing the direction of the wind, her eyes charting the arrow's trajectory.

Just as she recognized the subtle shift in Blooraven's stance that meant she was about to loose, she released her own arrow, which shot forward like a shooting star. The twang of a bowstring that was not her own and the whistle of the projectile as it sped through the air alerted Bloodraven just in time for her to react on pure instinct and shift her body slightly so that the tip embedded itself into her arm instead of her heart.

Dana smiled.

The arrow burst into a fiery conflagration, immolating Bloodraven and her closest lieutenant in the flames of Mount Arnazeus itself. The lieutenant dropped dead instantly, but Bloodraven rolled on the ground to put out the flames, shrieking in pain. Dana cursed. _What will it take to kill this abomination?_

Already two of the other bodyguards were charging at her, the third fumbling to retrieve her leader's discarded bow. She took the pike-wielding one in the eye with a well-placed shot but the other had a large wooden shield and kept blocking her arrows as she bore down on her. Dana shifted targets and aimed for the charging rogue's exposed shin, but this only slowed down her crazed opponent, and the last lieutenant was now shooting at her.

Rolling away from the missile, the amazon came up just in time to block the axe blow meant for her head with her bow, which almost snapped in two. She abandoned the broken weapon and grabbed a javelin from her thigh-quiver, using her superior agility to dodge away from the frenzied strikes of the pursuing rogue. She danced around the wild swings, making sure to keep the axe-wielder between her and the archer, waiting for a reckless attack that would open the shield enough to allow her to snake in a killing blow.

Suddenly, decaying hands burst out of the ground and seized her legs, immobilizing her. She caught sight of Bloodraven muttering a necromantic incantation, a sneer of pure hatred etched on her now bare face; the left side of her body was almost entirely charred and her left arm hung limply by her side. The shield-bearing lieutenant threw herself at the amazon with wild abandon, jubilant at the idea of finally burying her axe in the intruder's skull. 

* * *

Galen had been trying to make his way to the amazon with little success; the sounds he heard from the other side of the battlefield were anything but reassuring.

He tried to push through the roiling mass of zombies, but every corpse he felled was eagerly replaced by another with the same unnatural hunger in its eyes, clawing at his defenses to get at the soft flesh beneath. He surged forward with increasing desperation, his shield a battering ram, his scepter a blazing meteor that smashed into foe after foe, but all his momentum was lost when he heard a woman's scream over the cacophony of wretched groans.

It was Dana. He had never heard her scream, not even when he had pulled the arrow from her thigh, but he knew it in his heart.

Everything seemed to slow down around him. The undead were taking advantage of his hesitation to pile up on him, bringing him to his knee, trying to drag him down to the ground with sheer weight. He shut his eyes in frustration and turned his focus within, searching for something pure beyond the despair he felt.

What he found was a surprisingly powerful outpouring of love, for Dana, for his newfound companions, for life itself. It was like a newborn sun within him and he seized it, channeling it into raw life-force that burst forth from him in an aura of pure white light.

The writhing horde that had him pinned down just a moment ago recoiled in terror and pain, their rotting flesh withering as if seared by the sacred flame. They toppled each other in their efforts to get away from the paladin, many falling lifeless as the unholy magics that animated them were burned away by the sanctuary of light that pulsed like a heartbeat around him.

Galen rose to his feet and lifted a palm in the direction of the receding horde, and a wave of the same pure white light shot forth. A look of fierce determination on his face, he sent bolt after bolt of holy energy, clearing a way through the zombies; those that could scrambled out of the way while those that couldn't simply shriveled where they stood.

-"Aan!"

The northman turned to the knight behind him, a flicker of understanding in his gaze, before letting out a mighty shout that sent the swarming cadavers around him reeling, as if for one instant the fear of death had been put back into them. With a great leap he joined his companion and charged past him into the trail the paladin was blazing with blessed fire, each new wave healing his cuts and restoring his strength.

The few zombies that remained in his path quickly fell to the thundering barbarian and he burst out on the other side to find Dana with a corrupted rogue's axe lodged in her shoulder. Said rogue was now hanging limply against a javelin through the throat, the amazon using her corpse as a shield against the last bodyguard's arrows; so many dotted the dead rogue's back that she looked like a quill rat.

Aan rushed to Dana's side and tore her away from the clawing grasp of the undead hands holding her down. Arrows started smashing into his mail but he ignored the pain as he carried the amazon behind cover. He took a moment to assess the severity of her wound before removing the couple of arrows embedded in his side. His armor had stopped them from biting too deep. It was nothing that would slow down a son of Bul-Kathos.

\- "How bad is it?" Dana asked.

\- "I'm no healer, but I'd advise you not to remove that axe until Galen can take a look at it."

\- "You left him to fight the undead alone? How is he faring?"

\- "Like a bear among dogs," he grinned. "You stay here, I'll handle Bloodraven and her underling."

\- "No! I can still fight. I still have my javelin arm." Despite his earlier warning, the amazon pulled the axe out of her shoulder with a muffled scream. "Bloodraven is mine. You take care of the archer."

Aan looked at her sternly but she held his gaze, pride flaring in her eyes. A small smile peaked at the corner of his lips.

\- "Alright, shieldmaiden, have it your way. Give me that".

He snatched the axe from her hand and charged out with a roar. He received an arrow to the chest for his trouble but it barely fazed him as he threw the one-handed axe blade over haft and it struck the lieutenant before she could loose another shot, sending her to the ground.

Bloodraven was already running away as he closed the gap to her last defender and buried his broadaxe in her chest. The rogues' former champion fled with unnatural speed, Dana hot on her heels.

When the amazon finally caught up to her nemesis, she was picking up a spear from the ground with her good hand.

_Lydia's_ spear.

Rage burned anew in Dana's veins and with a snarl of hatred she called upon Zerae, goddess of vengeance and storms, to imbue her javelin with her fury. As if she had snatched a lightning bolt from the heavens themselves, she hurled the charged javelin at Bloodraven and it burned its way into her abdomen.

Again and again the amazon struck, each javelin sending Bloodraven reeling in a shower of sparks, until she had emptied her quiver.

Bloodraven fell to her knees, dropping Lydia's spear. Dana approached her battered foe and picked up the weapon. At her touch, the long, leaf-shaped speartip danced with flame, and with a final shout she drove it into her opponent's chest, searing her from the inside. As one last agonized breath left her, Bloodraven could only whisper one word.

\- "_Finally_".

With that, the fallen rogue collapsed and the dark energies inside her burst out with an inhuman screech. When they faded, it sounded like a sigh.

Dana knelt before the twisted body, staring at the face of a woman that she could have once called "sister". She felt no sense of triumph, no vindictive joy. She just felt hollow. She clutched Lydia's spear tight to her chest.

A moment passed before she felt a hand on her wounded shoulder. It began to heal.

\- "Did you put all the walking corpses to rest?" she inquired in a tired voice.

\- "Yes, the few that remained simply collapsed on their own."

\- "Where's Aan?"

\- "I'm here," the barbarian spoke up.

\- "Does it still hurt?" Galen asked her.

\- "Yes"

\- "Your shoulder?"

\- "No."

The paladin remained quiet.

\- "It should feel good. Why doesn't it feel good? Why do I only feel more grief?"

\- "Because this story was a tragedy even before your part in it. You can't blame yourself for how it ended. There was no other way."

\- "Now what?" She asked after a brief silence.

\- "Now we honor those who fell valiantly in the war against Hell by carrying on the fight," he said, offering his hand.

She took it and he helped her to her feet. Aan approached her and held out a recurve bow.

\- "You should have this."

It was Bloodraven's. Despite having been caught in the blast of her immolating arrow, it looked pristine. The amazon knew her way around bows, and this one was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, carved from a composite of rare materials and forge-enchanted.

\- "The bow that helped bring down Diablo. It belongs to the rogues," she decided. "Let's head back. I'm sure they could do with some good news right about now." 


	5. Chapter 5

\- "It is done. Bloodraven and her minions have been put to rest," Dana said, presenting the former rogue champion's bow to Kashya with unexpected reverence.

The redhead simply stared at the weapon for a long moment, her expression betraying nothing.

\- "You bring us both hope and grief, my friends," Akara answered in her stead. "Perhaps now we can begin to heal. You have proven yourselves to be steadfast allies. We are in your debt."

\- "You should keep the bow," Kashya spoke up. "It carries too much hurt with it for any of us to use. Besides, your kill, your trophy. It's the rogues' way."

\- "I will use it to help you reclaim your home. Time and distance may have estranged our two peoples, but we are still sisters. This amazon will fight by your side to the end." She paused, looking at the bow in her hands. "It's what Lydia would've done."

\- "My forebears once swore to fight the forces of Hell directly," Galen said in turn, reflexively pawing at the war scepter that hung at his belt. "I finally have the opportunity to follow in their footsteps and fulfill that oath. I too will help you cleanse your lands of Andariel's evil."

They both turned to Aan.

\- "I wouldn't want your ancestors to lord it over mine," he said with a smirk. "Count me in."

\- "We are grateful, outlanders. For now, the immediate threat to our camp has been quelled. Tonight, our sisterhood will hold council to decide our course of action. You three will be our guests of honor. Until then, take some time to rest. You've earned it."

Dana was already dreading her return to the tent she had shared with Lydia. She didn't want to be alone with the empty cot she would never again sneak into, the armor she would never again remove, the personal belongings she would have to sort. She was terrified of the moment the future would assert itself over the past.

\- "Aan and I are sharing a tent here in camp," the paladin's voice brought her back to the present. "We would be honored if you would join us."

Relief shone in the amazon's eyes, but was quickly replaced by a mischievous glint.

\- "We've barely known each other a day and you're already offering to share your tent with me?" she said with mock indignation. "Isn't promiscuity frowned upon in your order?"

She chuckled when the young man turned red and stammered an explanation. It felt good to laugh again.

\- "Come now, sir knight, I'm only teasing," she offered. "It's very thoughtful of you to propose. I accept…lead the way." 

* * *

Aan and Galen had just finished helping Dana move her affairs into their tent. The amazon was grateful for the company and for the busywork to keep her mind away from dark thoughts.

As they placed their armor and weapons on wooden racks, her eyes were again drawn to the paladin's war scepter; it looked ancient yet unweathered by the touch of time, the style of its craftsmanship harking back to some forgotten era. Something about it struck her as terribly familiar.

\- "Your scepter," she remarked. "It reminds me of my people's oldest artifacts. How did you come by such a thing?"

Galen grabbed the weapon in question with both hands, memories flashing across his face.

\- "The Pillar of Heaven. It's been in my family for countless generations," he said as he handed it over to Dana for closer inspection. "Legend has it that it was forged by sanctuary's first champions of the light. I don't know if there's any truth to that, but what I can say is that it was already a sacred relic when the church of Zakarum was young. Though to hear my father tell it, it's more of a curse than an heirloom."

\- "Wasn't it your father who passed it on to you?" she asked as she admired the scepter.

\- "No, it was my grandfather. My father never followed in the footsteps of his sires. He forsook the calling to become a humble merchant and raise a family in peace. Unfortunately for him, my sister and I grew up with our grandfather's stories and decided early on that we wanted to become paladins just like our forebears. Our father never approved. He said our family had already sacrificed too much to the cause; too many kin taken before their time, too many childhoods darkened by loss or even simple absence. Looking back, I can't say he was wrong."

\- "Your father cast shame on his ancestors," Aan inveighed. "You chose the right path. The warrior's path."

\- "As to that, I still have my doubts; his fears came true. The war against Leoric took both his father and one of his brothers, and sent his children into self-imposed exile," Galen responded.

\- "Your grandfather and your uncle...I'm sorry for your loss," the amazon said as she placed the Pillar of Heaven back in his hands.  
He gave it another long look.

\- "Maybe he was right," he added. "Maybe it is a curse. But the old tales teach us that some curses must be borne willingly for the greater good, no matter how they may weigh upon us," he paused, then turned to his companions with a smile. "Though to tell you the truth, I was always more partial to swords," he finished while placing the scepter back on the rack.

\- "You've some skill with a blade, holy man?" the barbarian challenged as they all settled in.

\- "You could say that," the paladin replied with understated confidence.

\- "I've never seen a swordsman without a sword," Dana interjected.

Galen grew somber.

\- "I laid mine down after the war," he spoke up after a short silence. "It was stained with the blood of men, men who had only acted out of loyalty to their king, demented as he was. I cut down many foes with that blade, some that deserved it, many that didn't...too many". Disgust warped his harmonious features. "I never wanted to touch it again. Others in my order felt the same way. We were defending our homeland, yes, but in so doing we found ourselves repeating the sins of the Hand of Zakarum."

\- "The Hand of Zakarum? You speak of the Inquisition?" the amazon's expression soured.

\- "Yes. I feel shame just to utter the word."

\- "The inquiwhatnow?" Aan inquired.

\- "I expect you've heard of the Time of Troubles? Those dark days were the work of a fanatical branch of the Zarakarum church called the Hand. They led the purge of those they deemed corrupted by demonic influence. Even at the best of times, their methods condemned the innocent alongside the guilty; at their worst, they were religious zealots who forced conversion and dogmatic allegiance at the tip of a sword. They went against every precept of our religion, twisting the enlightened teachings of Akarat into an instrument of terror and domination. Many paladins were horrified at what their order had become, and a great schism shook the church: those who rebelled against the Inquisition, my grandfather among them, ventured west to eventually establish a new order, the Knights of Westmarch. They vowed that they would protect the innocent and that, instead of shedding human blood, they would fight the source of demonic corruption at its root: The Prime Evils."

\- "But the Knights of Westmarch are nothing like the Hand. Your reputation as men of honor has reached even my lands. You were only defending your people against invasion." Aan protested.

\- "Perhaps I spoke too harshly, but it was clear to some of us that our order was falling short of its founding oath. Instead of facing off against the powers of Hell, we were once again fighting the victims of their corruption. Oathbound to the throne of Westmarch, we were forbidden to meddle in Khanduras' affairs as its king descended into madness and a shadow spread over Tristram. We realized that, tied to one nation as we were, we would be too embroiled in politics and limited to the kingdom's borders to truly challenge Hell's influence in Sanctuary. That is why some among my brethren set off to wander the world as knights-errant, defending those in need. My sister decided to rejoin the Zakarum church in the east; the war had convinced her that they had been right all along, that corruption had to be rooted out before it led to widespread tragedy."

\- "She chose to return to those rabid dogs?!" Dana exclaimed incredulously. "The very murderous fanatics that first tainted your order?"

\- "I tried talking her out of it, but you have to understand her point of view: two whole nations had needlessly spilled each other's blood because of one man's fall to demonic influence. She felt that though they had abused their power, the Hand's mission of eradicating evil was noble. In her defense, the Inquisition was decades ago, and the Que-Hegan who initiated it is long dead. There are even rumors that his successor, a man named Khalim, is a reformer who is returning the church to the humble spirit of its origins. That, at least, is what my sister believed, and she hoped truehearted paladins like herself going back into the fold would only serve to redeem the order in Kurast."

\- "Do you believe it?" Dana asked, her eyes boring into the young man.

Galen wavered a moment before answering.

\- "...I don't know. I too hope it is so. Who knows what goes on across the Twin Seas? At least my sister took a chance. I chose the coward's path," he sighed. "I was so sick of death and bloodshed after the war that I turned in my war gear, except for my grandfather's scepter and the shield that I had received upon attaining the rank of paladin," he said as he turned a meaningful glance to the weapons rack next to him. "After that, I left home to do whatever good I could as a traveling healer, but I knew that I would have to take up arms again in my journeys. The shepherd cannot tend to his flock if he cannot fight off the wolves. Now, perhaps, I finally have the chance to take the fight to the demons themselves," he paused, his sober expression breaking up to offer his companions a smile. "Though I'm glad I don't have to do it alone."

Aan grinned back while the amazon smiled weakly, her heart troubled; _I'm glad I don't have to do it alone_...Lydia had once said those exact same words to her.

\- "Friend Galen," the barbarian began, "your grandfather entrusted you with his most sacred heirloom. You honor him by wielding it in his name." He rose to his feet. "I think the three of us will do great deeds together. In the meantime, let us celebrate our newly forged alliance! Follow me to whatever passes for a mead hall in this camp, I'm buying us all a round."

With that, Aan left the tent with a spring in his step. Galen grinned at Dana and got to his feet, opening the tent flap and gesturing for her to take the lead.

\- "Milady," he announced with exaggerated pomp.

\- "Thank you, sir knight," she replied with equal grandiosity as they followed after their friend. 

* * *

\- "Barkeep! Another!" Aan's voice rang in the camp canteen, and other voices roared in approval.

This was merely another high note in the constant merrymaking and singing that surrounded the northman, his booming voice carrying over the others; a number of rogues and other denizens of the encampment had joined him in his revelry, his good mood preternaturally contagious.

\- "At least one of us is in high spirits," Dana remarked enviously.

\- "That man is an inexhaustible font of good cheer," Galen said with a smile.

\- "And yet I sense he's had just as hard a time of it as either of us."

\- "His many scars would suggest as much, yes, though he wears them proudly. He too seems to be adrift in this world, with no place to call home."

\- "You could go back home any time you choose," she remarked. "I'm sure your family would embrace you with open arms."

\- "I could say the same of you," he rejoined. "What keeps you so far from the amazon isles?"

\- "It's…complicated."

\- "It always is," he nodded with a sigh.

They both fell silent for moment, basking in the raucous sounds of the barbarian and his drunken entourage.

\- "Thank you, by the way," she said suddenly. Her voice was different now. "I didn't get to properly thank you for your help. I don't know how I would've managed the last couple of days without you two."

\- "I'm sorry we didn't arrive sooner. Perhaps if we'd been there the first time…" he stopped himself before he could finish. The last thing he wanted was to reopen the wound before it had time to heal.

\- "Or perhaps one of _you_ would be dead now. Or maybe me, and you would be having this conversation with Lydia. There's no use wondering. Fate does not bargain." Her mood had soured.

Regretting his words, he placed his hand on hers. He was rewarded with a smile.

\- "Don't let me spoil this celebration for you," she apologized. "You deserve to unwind. You fought well for someone who's supposed to be rusty."

\- "My time as an itinerant healer was not wholly peaceful, you know," he replied. "I had to wield my scepter against bandits, beasts and demons on occasion. I even fought a necromancer who was terrorizing the countryside not so long ago."

\- "Wait, you don't mean the Corpsemaster of Kirkmoor?"

\- "The very same."

\- "That was you? Lydia and I had just been hired to deal with him when we heard that a brave champion had waded through an army of skeletons to strike him down. You cost us a pretty penny."

\- "I don't know how brave that was," he demurred. "The man was powerful, but raving mad. The only way I could end his insanity was to end his life."

\- "Some people deserve nothing more," she retorted grimly.

\- "Well allow me to make up for your lost contract with a drink and a hearty meal," he offered to lighten the mood and beckoned to the barkeep. 

* * *

They'd just finished enjoying their ale when a rogue came to summon them to the council. The northman was already on his 7th flagon. A veritable feast lay half eaten before him.

Galen and Dana, who had been much more moderate in their intake, exchanged a worried glance.

\- "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," the amazon worried out loud. "He's in no condition to attend a war council."

\- "Aan," the paladin began, but the barbarian didn't respond as he downed another flagon.

Galen tried a more direct approach, placing a hand on his shoulder to draw his attention away from the other revelers.

\- "Aan my friend, maybe you should sit this one out."

\- "Who's Anne?" came the slurred response. "You want me to sit where?"

\- "We're going to discuss important matters with the rogue leadership, but you're clearly too inebriated to come. Wait for us here."

\- "Nonsense," Aan retorted, "I'm not inerbr...ibrini...inbrineat...what you said. Let me just finish my drunk and we can go."

\- "Aan," Dana interjected, "be reasonable."

\- "Stop calling me that," the northman grumbled. "That's not my name".

\- "It's not?" Galen asked.

\- "Never mind. Don't...don't worry about me, I'll be on my best behavior," he said as he rose to his feet.

\- "Just stay quiet and leave the talking to us," the amazon insisted.

\- "I'll be as quiet as the mouse that got the cheese."

\- "...the mouse that got the cheese?" Dana asked with as much sarcasm as she could express.

\- "That's how the saying goes, right? Because the mouse is too busy eating to speak...um, squeak."

Dana just sighed as Galen tried his best to contain his laughter. 

* * *

The war council of the rogues was a solemn affair. All the heads of the sisterhood were there, with Akara and Kashya at the head of the table. The redheaded captain welcomed them.

\- "Ah, our honored guests have arrived. Now that you're here we can begin. We have been discussing the threat the maiden of anguish poses and how best to face it. Akara has news to share about what we're up against." Kashya looked to her elder.

The room went quiet as all eyes focused on the priestess. The silence lingered, broken only by a belch that emanated from the barbarian.

\- "I'm afraid we may be dealing with more than just Andariel," Akara began. "I have peered into the Sightless Eye, and in it I sensed a greater evil lurking, one that threatens not just our lands but the entire world. I tried to glean more information but all I received was a vision: I saw the town of Tristram. The cathedral loomed in the distance, its shadow black as night. The shadow began to grow, becoming immense, and everything the shadow touched began to burn, until it engulfed the whole town and Tristram was nothing but a massive inferno." She paused to collect herself. "I do not know what this portends, but I believe Tristram's part in this story is not yet finished. There is only one man with enough knowledge of history and lore to advise us, a Horadric sage by the name of Deckard Cain. He survived the darkening of Tristram, but now I fear what may have happened to him and his town. You must go there to find him if he yet lives," she finished, staring straight at the three companions.

\- "But Tristram is over a hundred leagues from here. It would take us weeks to get there!" Galen objected.

\- "There might be another way. Somehow you have been able to awaken the ancient waypoints that have lain dormant since before our ancestors left Skovos. A hidden power lies within you that has not been seen in the land for generations. There is a circle of cairn stones, older even than the waypoints, that was erected in the nearby highlands in the time before the sin war. Legend has it that it can open a magical portal to several locations in Khanduras, one of which is just outside Tristram. However, in order to activate the stones a ritual must be performed, and no one has managed it in living memory, but you may yet succeed where all others have failed. Alas, all records of the ritual lie in the monastery's library, which the demons have probably ransacked by now. But there is still one hope: the tree of Innifus. Carved on its surface is the oldest pictograph of the ritual. If you can bring me back its bark, I can decipher the glyphs to allow you to activate the portal."

\- "Where is this tree?" inquired the amazon.

\- "It stands in the forest that lies on the way to the monastery. It can only be reached by a passage that goes through the mountains. I will mark both locations on your map, but be careful. Those woods have grown dark ever since Andariel began corrupting the land, and we've lost many a scout to the tainted wildlife there. There's no telling what lurks in the shadows."

\- "Whatever it is, it can't be bigger than me," boasted Aan.

\- "We should begin the journey as soon as possible," Galen said as he turned to his companions. "If something has indeed happened to Tristram, every moment we delay lowers the chances we'll find anyone alive. We'll stock up on supplies and head out first thing in the morning," he announced to the assembly. "If Cain lives, we'll bring him back." 


	6. Chapter 6

The night had been blissfully peaceful, and the morning found the three eager to embrace it, except for the barbarian who woke up to a hangover.

Each of them began preparations for the journey ahead. Galen retrieved a full waterskin and a leather pouch that he filled with a day's provisions at the camp's canteen. He hung both on his belt before turning to Aan, who had accompanied him. The northman was filling a backpack with enough foodstuff to feed a family.

\- "Umm, you know we'll only be gone for one day, right?"

\- "What's your point?" the barbarian gave him a confused look.

The paladin just laughed as Dana walked up beside him, her own preparations done. She had placed Bloodraven's bow into her back sheath and was using Lydia's spear as a walking stick.

_**My**__ spear_ she reminded herself. _**My**__ bow. __**My**__ fight.  
_  
\- We should get moving," she prompted. "We need to reach the woods while it's still light outside. If they're as dark as they say, searching for the right tree at night will be impossible."

\- "Agreed. It doesn't sound like a nice place to sleep in either. You ready, Aan? If that's even your real name," Galen added mysteriously.

Ignoring the remark, the barbarian secured his backpack to the strap that also held his axe and followed them to the waypoint. Teleporting to the plains outside the burial grounds would cut down on the time it would take them to reach their destination.

When the paladin tried to activate it, he found it responded to his touch.

\- "Guess you're not the only one with magic hands," he smiled at the amazon.

He was confused when she blushed. 

* * *

Traversing the plains was uneventful, they had already been cleared of all corrupted creatures. The stony field where the cairn stones stood, however, was an entirely different matter. As soon as they stepped foot on the rocky terrain, they began encountering roaming bands of fallen, which they made short work of. They had just dispatched another group of the diminutive demons when Dana spotted something in the distance.

\- "Those menhir-like shapes...those must be the cairn stones we're looking for, but they're of little use to us now. We follow the Rakkisroad east."

Leading the way, she moved slightly ahead of the other two to scout out any potential dangers, her senses on high alert. The terrain here was uneven, rife with rock formations for enemies to hide behind, and going uphill put them at a tactical disadvantage.

The sun followed its arc as the two men trekked behind the amazon.

It was midday when they arrived in view of a sheer cliff face with a large entrance carved into its surface. The road disappeared into the heart of the mountain. They had finally arrived at the underground passage.

Dana held up her hand, her body suddenly tense. Something was wrong; a faint rustle...a smell on the wind...a sense of foreboding. She gripped her spear with two hands. Just then, she heard the all-too-familiar sound of a bow being drawn.

\- "Ambush!" she called out.

Galen and Aan burst into action as arrows were loosed at them and a party of corrupted rogues jumped out to attack them. Dark spear-maidens were charging them under the cover of their archers, and already the barbarian had taken a few missiles to the chest, which was thankfully the most armored part of his body. Galen moved in front of him, blocking further shots with his shield.

Dana relied on her incredible reflexes to dodge the arrows and take cover, planting her spear into the ground. She took out her bow and began shooting back. The paladin moved to her side to intercept the spear-wielders while Aan stunned the archers by bridging the gap with one great leap and tearing into them with devastating swings of his axe. The amazon shot a few more arrows to help Aan then took up her spear again and held the line at Galen's side.

The first two rogues to run into his shield quickly fell to her jabs but she could not outreach the others. Before they could overwhelm her with their number, she gripped her spear like a quarterstaff and used sweeps, counters and spinning strikes to parry their thrusts and get inside their defenses. The spear-tip ignited and her flurry of attacks became a fiery dance that blinded and scorched her foes.

Galen kept pace with her, keeping her flank secure, but she noticed his fighting style was strangely passive, mostly consisting of hiding behind his shield and pushing the enemy back. It was almost as though he were afraid, but Dana had seen him boldly smash through an army of undead.

\- "What are you waiting for? Fight!"

Stung by her reprimand, he grit his teeth and surged forward, no longer simply blocking spears but splintering them and shattering bones with his war scepter. The corrupted rogues fell left and right under the combined assault, until only seven remained.

They fell back and reformed into a double ranked defensive phalanx, while the archers who had survived the barbarian's onslaught formed up behind them and aimed shots between their sisters' shoulders. His golden aura blazing stronger, the paladin charged shield first into the phalanx, shattering it instantly and sending most all the rogues sprawling to the ground.

Dana and Aan were quick to exploit the breach, dispatching their enemies before they could recover. Galen lifted his scepter, ready to smash it down on the bow-woman on the ground before him; her eyes went wide with terror and she raised her hands protectively in an all-too human gesture of fear. His hand froze before it could launch into its deadly arc; all killing intent had vanished from his eyes.

As soon as he lowered his weapon the dark rogue's expression turned to a sneer of pure malice and she pulled out a dagger that she planted in his thigh. He screamed and fell to one knee but before the rogue could pursue her advantage the amazon's spear was in her throat.

When he had pulled out the dagger with a grunt and closed the wound with healing magic, he looked up to see Dana's grey eyes scrutinizing him. She offered him a hand up.

\- "You're going to have to get used to fighting women if we're to bring down the demon queen and her entourage," she said as she raised him to his feet.

His only response was to lower his gaze. She decided to drop the matter for now.

\- "Let's move, but stay on your guard. They may have sent word of our approach to others."

The dark tunnel lay open before them like the mountain's black maw. 

* * *

They had been walking carefully but steadily, for how long Aan couldn't quite say.

The amazon's ardent spear and the paladin's aura lit the way ahead, and he followed closely, but it was still dark enough for his sense of time to get distorted. The road was winding, which made things worse somehow.

He spotted torches on the walls but none had been lit for a while by the look of things. He wondered whether that was cause for relief or concern; either the tunnel was empty, or whatever lurked inside could see in the dark. He remembered one of his mother's many sayings:_ he who whistles in the dark cannot hear the wolf approaching. _He gripped his broadaxe tighter.

\- "I think I see a light ahead," Dana spoke up.

\- "Maybe it's the exit," he asserted hopefully. There was little in the world that could scare him, but the idea of having a whole mountain above his head made him uncomfortable. Northmen were made for the open air, under the sky where the ancestors could witness them.

\- "It's a little early for the exit, isn't it?" Galen asked uncertainly

As they moved ahead, he could indeed see a pale light growing brighter. It came from just around the bend, but the barbarian was no longer so eager to reach it; the closer they got, the more it seemed eerie and unnatural. Behind him, shadows began to move.

Just as the trio was about to turn the corner, the light began moving towards them. Before they could share so much as a suspicious look a dark shape pounced on Aan, sinking fangs into his shoulder. The northman screamed in surprise and pain but it quickly turned to wrath as he twisted to shift the creature's weight towards his front and shoved it hard with the haft of his axe. It went tumbling into the radius of light provided by his friends.

It was a brutish creature with horns and massive jaws, looking for all the world like some wingless, misshapen gargoyle. Aan's warrior instinct kicked in and instead of rushing the thing he turned just in time to bury the blade of his axe into the gaping maw of another attacker.

Galen was quick to crush the fallen demon's huge skull and hesitated for one moment between helping the northman or joining Dana's side to face the approaching glow. He decided the devil he knew was the lesser threat and took up position next to the amazon.

More of the beasts poured in, followed by what they could finally see was the source of the pale light. It was yet another one of the creatures, but this one was bigger and its whole body was wreathed in lightning that danced on its scaly skin.

Dana used her reach advantage to spear the first demon that leaped at her, then pushed forward through its dying body to impale another, while Galen launched into a blindingly quick succession of crushing blows against the three tainted creatures facing him, allowing the recoil of each strike to return his war scepter to its initial position.

The remaining demons retreated back to their apparent leader who opened his ridiculously large mouth and spewed what could only be described as ball lightning at the two warriors. Its minions followed suit and the surprised amazon took two bolts before Galen stepped in front of her to shield her. Regaining control of her spasming limbs, she took out her bow and began shooting from behind the cover provided by the paladin, her missiles bursting aflame midflight.

The demons proved tenacious, however, and each took several arrows to take down, while the paladin's body was shaking from the shocking barrage, his shield unable to fully absorb the electric charge. Then, his aura began to shift, acquiring a rainbow hue with small bursts of color that seemed to harmlessly dissipate the lightning bolts that impacted upon him. He stood taller, now unfazed by the elemental projectiles, and surged forward.

Dana used the distraction to grab her spear and make her own charge, and she was soon joined by Aan who had dealt with the demons in the back. The three fell upon the creatures with a crash, felling most of them before they could react.

The barbarian delivered a huge blow to the glowing one's side but as soon as his axe connected his body was wracked with a devastating surge of lightning that snaked its way from the creature. A lesser man would've been killed instantly but he had been exposed to the elements since he was a child and he was protected by Galen's iridescent aura. He worked through the pain and struck again, and again. Each time his body sizzled with a thunderous shock.

By the fifth blow, the demon was nothing but a bleeding mess on the ground.

The paladin was finishing off the last of their foes. Aan allowed himself to fall on his back and rest his shaking limbs.

\- "I can't wait to get out of here," he said with a sigh. 


	7. Chapter 7

\- "I take it back".

They had just surfaced into the dark woods and Aan was suddenly nostalgic for the tunnel. The forest was almost as dark and twice as sinister. Thick branches twisted tortuously overhead, choking out the sunlight and blanketing the grounds below in an unnatural stillness. A dark taint seemed to lie over the woods.

_Trees can't fall prey to demonic corruption...can they?_ The northman wondered. He kept a leery eye on the flora as Dana led them deeper within.

They walked for a long while without encountering anything. Eventually, they stopped to eat and recuperate. Though she and Galen were used to soldier's rations, Dana couldn't help but envy the barbarian's impressive appetite.

\- "So how do we find this tree of Phineas?" he asked between bites.

\- "Innifus," she corrected him. "Your guess is as good as mine, but staying on the path might be our best bet."

\- "If it's as important as Akara made it out to be, I'm sure we'll know it when we see it," Galen chimed in.

The Askari nodded, but her eyes were already lost in her surroundings, scanning the trees as if she could see through them.

To Aan's visible displeasure, the meal was as short as the way ahead was long. The further they went, the more the unnerving quiet grew. Not a bird chirped, not a squirrel scurried, not a bush was disturbed by a woodland creature. Even the wind seemed afraid to play here.

Thankfully, this made it much easier for the amazon to detect the faintest sound. She suddenly signaled for her companions to stop, peering into the darkness.

\- "Patrol ahead. Dark rogues. They don't seem to know we're here," she said as she took out her bow from the sheath on her back. She began knocking an arrow but Galen grabbed her arm.

\- "Wait," he urged. "If they don't know we're here, wouldn't it be wiser to just avoid them?"

\- "I don't like the idea of leaving enemies in our back. What if we have to fight at some point and it alerts them to our presence? I'd rather fight our foes piecemeal than all at once."

\- "Yes, but light knows how many foes there are in this forest. We have no idea where the tree is, we can't go around fighting every enemy we stumble upon. Don't forget that time is of the essence."

She contemplated his words for a moment.

\- "Is this about you not wanting to kill the corrupted rogues again, Galen? You know they're beyond redemption. The only salvation we can give them is a quick death."

\- "That's not it," he retorted. "We have a mission and every delay lowers our chances of success. Taking the path of least resistance is simply the wiser course of action."

For his part, Aan wouldn't have minded replacing the disquieting silence of the woods with the familiar din of battle, but he held his tongue. His innate recklessness had too often gotten him into trouble.

\- "Very well," Dana replied after a short pause. "We'll do it your way. Stay close, and try not to make any sound."

The three crept forward, giving the dark rogues a wide berth. The barbarian and paladin's attempts at stealth were somewhat comical, but thankfully the noises of the patrol itself drowned out their clumsy steps. The amazon held an eastward direction, or at least what she guessed was east. It was hard to tell anything in this forest. Time seemed different here, and hours seemed to stretch by. They circumvented three more patrols before Dana decided to stop.

\- "I think we're lost. I have no clue which way to go, for all we know we might have passed the tree already. I've held a steady course so far but that was based on the assumption that the tree is close to the main path. The truth is it could be anywhere in the forest, and if we start wandering around to find it, we'll end up going around in circles."

\- "I doubt Akara would send us to look for a needle in a haystack without further ado," countered Galen. "The tree must be unique in some way...maybe it's magical and it glows."

\- "Maybe it's just big," Aan interjected.

\- "You're one to talk," the paladin remarked snidely.

Dana stared at the huge northman who towered over her and Galen. Her face broke into a grin.

\- "Aan, you're a genius!"

\- "First time I've been accused of that," he laughed.

\- "Wait here," she said as she lay her equipment against the nearest tree and began climbing it with impressive agility. Soon she had disappeared into the foliage.

After a moment, she came back down with a triumphant smile.

\- "There's a giant tree in that direction," she pointed behind her. "It must be what we're looking for."

The paladin nodded and beckoned for her to lead the way.

\- "Ladies first". 

* * *

They were finally in sight of the great tree.

They had emerged onto a clearing where it stood alone, its massive branches providing shade over the entire area. It was brighter here, the rays of the setting sun dying the clearing in shades of fire and blood.

As they neared the tree, they could make out inscriptions carved into its bark in a script none of them recognized, though Aan found them strangely reminiscent of the runes used by his own people.

\- "So this is the tree of Infinus," he said, looking up admiringly.

\- "Innifus," Galen corrected.

\- "Right, that. This thing must be a at least a thousand years old. It looks nothing like the other trees in this forest."

\- "It looks like an ash tree, except much bigger," Dana added, laying a hand on the bark. The glyphs began to glow in a strange pattern, alternating symbols lighting up with a hum of power.

\- "This must be the ritual Akara spoke of," Galen offered. "Hopefully the magic will not dissipate once we cut off the..."

In that instant it was the paladin who was cut off by a bestial roar that echoed across the clearing. Three hulking figures emerged from the tree line ahead, rampaging towards them like rolling thunder, throwing clumps of earth around in their stampede.

The amazon recognized them immediately: Wendigos, giant ape-like creatures that walked on two legs in a parody of man, yet were rumored to feast on man-flesh. They were known to be fiercely territorial even when they coexisted peacefully with humans, but the demonic taint that corrupted the land had clearly driven them mad with bloodlust. Their bodies were almost comically disproportioned, hands the size of tree trunks protruding from massive torsos that looked out of place on their small legs and heads.

The three warriors immediately broke into action as the paladin's golden aura enveloped them. Dana placed her spear against the tree and took out her bow. She loosed arrow after arrow at the lead brute, which was bigger and faster than the others, but every missile thudded ineffectually into its ancient and bark-like hide.

\- "Scatter!" she called out to her allies.

Galen and Aan moved in opposite directions, each drawing away one of the wendigos while the ancient one plowed its way towards the amazon. She grabbed her spear and at the last second braced it against the ground, hoping the brute would skewer itself with its momentum, but despite its evident rage this was no dumb beast; it batted away the spear and its wielder with a single huge backhand that sent Dana flying and rattled her bones.

She recovered just in time to dodge as the wendigo's fists smashed the ground she had been standing on an instant before. It relentlessly pursued her as she continued to evade it, unable to strike without exposing herself to the creature's massive reach and power.

_Use the terrain to your advantage, _a familiar voice echoed in her mind. Her sparring sessions with Lydia were a treasure trove of life-saving advice. She suddenly dashed towards the great tree, her enemy on her heels. When she reached it she kept running, jumping onto its trunk and using it as a stepping stone to propel herself even higher. Grabbing a branch, she climbed into the tree with feline grace and disappeared into the foliage.

Meanwhile, her companions had engaged the other two wendigos. Aan charged headlong into his opponent and smashed his broadaxe into its side but was rewarded with a giant fist crashing into his face. He was sent reeling back, the pain in his blood-splattered nose blinding him, and the creature pressed its advantage with a roar despite the axe buried in its ribs.

Just as it moved to strike him the barbarian roared in turn and retaliated with a punch of his own that stunned the beast long enough for him to retrieve his weapon. Blood spurted from the now open axe wound but this only enraged the wendigo further as it pounced on Aan in an attempt to seize him. Its grasping hand was met with the cold steel of his broadaxe, which bit into the fingers and severed off half of the appendage. The beast recoiled in pain and the northman used the opening to go to work on it like a lumberjack on a tree, cutting it down with repeated blows.

On the other side of the clearing, Galen was bracing for impact as his foe smashed into him, and though his shield took the brunt of the charge he was sent inexorably backwards, his feet plowing furrows in the soil. The paladin's golden aura blazed brighter and brighter until the beast could no longer push forward, so it changed tactics; it grabbed the human by the shield and hurled him to the side.

Galen went tumbling but found his footing just in time to block the creature's overhand smash. His left arm numbed by the impact, he retaliated with a rising swing of his war scepter. It bounced on the wendigo's torso without quite reaching the head, so he reversed his swing and sent his weapon crashing into the knee with a sickening crack. The brute buckled and had to support its weight with one hand, its head now an easy target. It tried grabbing Galen with its other hand but he bashed it away with his shield and raised his scepter, its flanged crown aglow with righteous fury, before bringing it down in one thunderous blow that caved in the beast's skull.

The ancient wendigo was pounding on the trunk of the tree of Innifus, outraged that its prey was beyond its reach. Its tiny murderous eyes kept fruitlessly searching the leaves for any trace of the sneaky human.

Just as it backed away from the trunk, winded by its own fury, the amazon pounced from above, slamming her flaming speartip into its head. The creature bellowed with rage; though its thick skin prevented the blow from being fatal the wound was still grievous.

Dana pressed herself into her spear, trying to drive it deeper but she quickly realized her mistake as the brute seized her by the waist and began squeezing, her scale mail providing no protection against the crushing grip. She screamed breathlessly as the air was forcefully ejected from her lungs, yet she retained enough focus to reach for one of the javelins on her thigh. She pulled it out and jammed it into her captor's eye.

The beast roared in pain and flung her away, her body hitting the ground hard. She was already getting to her feet as she gasped to breathe; she knew she had little time to spare before the tainted ancient was on her again. She ran, putting as much distance as she could between herself and her foe.

When she heard it recover and begin barreling towards her, she pulled out her bow and shot arrows imbued with frost at the wendigo's legs. The missiles embedded themselves in the monstrous limbs and began to cover them with a thin sheen of ice, but this only slowed down the creature.

Dana stilled her panicked breathing and knocked one more arrow, recalling her training in Mount Karcheus. Her mana flowed freely into the shaft, filling it with the wintery breath of Karcheus himself, and when she let fly it chilled the air in its trail.

The arrow slammed home and instantly froze the ground in front of the charging wendigo; it slipped on the ice and its reckless momentum sent it sprawling at the amazon's feet. She immediately grabbed hold of her spear and pushed with all her weight, driving the searing tip into the creature's brain with a grunt of triumph.

The hulking body was wracked with spasms, then went still, and the stillness seemed to spread to the entire clearing which a moment ago had echoed with sound and fury. Galen and Aan were rejoining her, appearing unharmed except for the barbarian's nose. She allowed herself a sigh of relief.

\- "You two sure took your sweet time," she reproached playfully. "I might as well have taken all three of them on by myself."

The barbarian grinned at the familiar boisterous banter but Galen simply gazed intently into her eyes. It was the same look he had given her while she had been in his care.

\- "Holy man, think you can fix this up for me?" Aan pointed at his nose.

\- "I don't know, I think you look better this way," the paladin replied.

\- "You wouldn't want to break Charsi's heart, would you?" the amazon chided.

Galen chuckled and set about healing the barbarian's face, while Dana took out a dagger and began chiseling at the bark to remove the part that contained the carvings.

When she was done, she had a scroll made of inscribed bark in her hand, one that still pulsed with magic. She rolled it and placed it inside a scroll tube that hung on her belt.

\- "I have what we came for. We can go back to Akara now".

\- "Great," Aan interjected, feeling up his restored nose with alternating grimaces "we get to retrace our steps through the long dark tunnel, not to mention all the rogue patrols we'll have to avoid again".

\- "Maybe not," Dana replied mysteriously. Despite the dying light she had spied something familiar in the underbrush close by.

She moved there and began removing the overgrowth with her bare hands. As she did so, she cut herself on some thorns, and a drop of blood dripped onto the object she was uncovering. There was a sudden flash of blue light, which turned into a soft glow and a low hum.

\- "Looks like we won't have to sleep out here after all," she finally revealed her handiwork, gesturing invitingly at the waypoint that had been hidden by the shrubbery. 


	8. Chapter 8

\- "Fascinating". Dana waited for Akara to elaborate, but the priestess offered nothing more as she pored over the scroll of Innifus, her eyes darting across the pattern of glowing runes. When she was done, her gaze shifted to the trio of adventurers that stood expectantly before her. She silently studied each in turn, until finally she spoke. "A northern barbarian. A paladin of Westmarch. An amazon from the southern isles. It seems the hand of fate guides you, my friends. Were there five of you, I would be certain of it." She turned to her second in command. "Kashya, summon Warriv and Gheed. I need a word with them."

A look of irritation flitted across Kashya's face; she liked Warriv well enough to exchange pleasantries, but she was loath to even breathe in Gheed's general direction. However, she trusted her elder's will and set off to accomplish it.

\- "What's this about?" asked Galen.

\- "The ritual to open the portal requires a precise order of activation, and one more thing; the same thing you used to awaken the waypoints," Akara paused meaningfully. "Blood."

\- "Please don't tell me it involves a virgin sacrifice," the paladin replied half-jokingly.

\- "Alas, dear boy," Dana said with affected melancholy, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I was starting to get fond of you."

\- "Wait, what? Why would you assume I'm a virgin?" he asked as a blush crept over his face.

\- "You're a paladin, aren't you? Isn't chastity a part of your vows? Besides, you have this innocence about you".

\- "I'll have you know..." he began.

\- "...yes?" she asked expectantly.

\- "I'm not...I... chastity is not a part of our vows. You're thinking of monks. My grandfather was a paladin, remember?" he finished, averting his gaze.

\- "Among my people," Aan interjected, "healers are women. Many of them believe that they must remain pure or risk losing their powers. You are a powerful healer, friend Galen, you must be very pure."

\- "A paladin's powers don't work like that! " the young man sounded outraged.

The amazon's laughter died on her lips when she noticed Akara's weary expression, the kind worn by old people when dealing with noisy children.

\- "As I was saying," the priestess continued, "blood is required for the ritual, but nothing as dramatic as a sacrifice. Only a small vial's worth. However, you will need the blood of five people, people born and raised in five different compass points. Fortunately for you, you three hail from three of those directions, and I just so happen to know a couple of individuals who were born in the remaining two. Ah, speak of the devil."

Kashya was returning with Warriv and Gheed in tow. The latter was complaining loudly.

\- "You're wasting my time, and time is coin. These are my most lucrative business hours you know. My wares won't sell themselves!"

The rogue commander simply ignored his ranting, though a dangerous glint shone in her eye.

\- "Night has fallen," Warriv offered helpfully. "Surely you must be closing your shop by now."

\- "Commerce never sleeps, my friend," the rotund merchant countered. "People make their most...rash decisions in the lull of the night. That includes frivolous purchases. Throw in a few drinks at the tavern and you've got yourself a recipe for a great bargain...for me, at least."

\- "I apologize for the abrupt summons." Akara announced. "These brave warriors are undertaking a task of importance to the sisterhood, and by extension the whole camp. We need your help with the matter."

\- "You've been more than gracious in hosting us here," Warriv replied. "We'll do anything we can to repay your kindness."

\- "Ah, you've brought us here to talk business!" Gheed's face lit up. "Well why didn't you say so? I assume our friends here require equipment for their journey? I can provide them with the best weapons and armor ever forged by mortal smith. And, if the price is right, a few that weren't; legendary items enchanted with mysterious magics from a time before man..."

\- "We don't require anything from your stock," the priestess interrupted him before he could continue. "What we need is your blood."

Gheed's expression went from disappointed to terrified in the span of a few seconds. Kashya took secret pleasure in his discomfiture, though only Akara knew her well enough to tell.

\- "M...my blood?! Is this about an unsatisfactory purchase? I'm sure we can come to some kind of agreement. I have a strict no refund policy, but for you lovely ladies I can make an exception. I'll offer compensation...though not for the full price, you understand."

\- "Calm yourself, man," the caravaneer bid him. "I'm sure the sisters mean us no harm."

\- "Indeed not," the priestess confirmed. "We only need a small vial of blood, one from each of you. Warriv, you're from Lut Gholein, yes?"

\- "That's right," he responded.

\- "And you, Gheed," she continued. "You're originally from Ivgorod if I remember correctly."

\- "...yes," the merchant replied, still eyeing her suspiciously.

\- "Your blood will aid us in our fight against Andariel," she explained. "I myself will heal your cuts as soon as we have enough. Will you help us?"

\- "Of course, priestess," Warriv immediately answered. "I offer mine freely."

They all turned to Gheed.

\- "Nothing in life is free," he countered. "How do I know you won't be using my blood for some dark sorcery? No, it's absolutely out of the question. Now, perhaps I could be persuaded with a small...contribution to my supplies. Say from Charsi's smithy? The girl has no business sense anyway, I'd do a much better job selling some of her wares."

\- "Pink boar," Aan spoke up. The others looked at him quizzically. "That's what you remind me of," he elaborated, looking intently at Gheed while thumbing the edge of his axe. "A pink boar. I wonder if you taste the same. Pink boars must be bled dry before cooking anyway. Two birds with one stone."

The merchant blanched at the vicious gaze the massive barbarian was directing towards him. Dana stifled a chuckle while Galen gave the northman a look of disapproval.

\- "Now now, let's not get carried away," Gheed protested in a panicked voice. "We're all friends here. I'll give you what you need. I'll even throw in a discount for any wares you might fancy at my shop."

\- "That's uncharacteristically generous of you, Gheed," Kashya chimed in with a hint of sarcasm. "Now both of you give me your hands; I'll do the honors," she said as she drew a dagger from her belt.

\- "I'd prefer doing it myself," the merchant squeaked.

\- "Suit yourself," the rogue captain replied.

When the deed was done and Akara had healed Warriv and Gheed's palms, she turned back to the three warriors, offering them the two vials of blood her second in command had collected.

\- "Starting with the northern stone and moving west to east, counter to the movement of the sun, you must place the blood from each of the five directions on the corresponding monolith," she instructed. "Once this is done, the blood that matches the direction of your destination must be placed on the sixth cairn stone, the one that stands at the center. Tristram is to the west, so it must be Galen who activates it."

\- "Time is not on our side," the man in question asserted. "We'll set out immediately. Thank you, priestess."

As he led his allies back to the waypoint, he addressed Aan without turning.

\- "That wasn't very nice, what you did to that poor fellow."

\- "I was only posturing. More fool he for taking me seriously. I swear you folk will believe anything about my people. What kind of idiot thinks northmen are cannibals?"

\- "The same kind that believes paladins must be virgins, I suspect," the paladin suggested wryly. 

* * *

Though night had fallen and the land was dark, they made good speed as they knew the path and no enemies barred their way.

That all changed when they finally neared their destination. The first time they had glimpsed the cairn stones was from afar during the day, and they had been nothing but vague silhouettes in the distance. Now a multitude of campfires burned in the night, and Dana could make out small shadows flickering in the firelight.

\- "Fallen," she stated simply. Judging by how far their camp seemed to spread, she guessed a small army of the diminutive demons occupied the circle of stones.

\- "We can't perform the ritual as long as they're here. We'll have to take them on," Galen proposed.

\- "I'll open hostilities by picking off isolated targets from afar. You two get ready to charge in as soon as they sound the alarm." Her companions exchanged a look and nodded in unison.

Arrows whistled in the night, dispatching stragglers around camp before they could so much as utter a cry of surprise. Dana did not imbue any of her missiles with magic so that they would remain invisible in the dark, and she made sure each shaft found an instantly fatal mark. Over a dozen imps fell to her silent barrage before fallen began stumbling upon the bodies of their dead comrades and a call to arms went up around the camp.

Aan and Galen suddenly materialized at the edge of the firelight like vengeful apparitions, their weapons flashing with deadly intent. The amazon's arrows kept their flanks secure as they carved a bloody path through the scrambling fallen, but the initial surprise of their assault began to fade and soon the demons were organizing into ranks, launching themselves at the two warriors in waves that retreated every time too many of them fell; each time they came back bolder, scrambling over each other in a frenzied assault that held a growing disregard for their own lives. Their numbers seemed limitless; though they were small, their lithe frames belied a rabid strength, and though their weaponry was crude, it was viciously made.

Aan sent demonic limbs flying with great swings of his axe, but this left him open to the sharp blades and spear tips that gnawed at his defenses, wearing him down with a thousand cuts. Galen was protected by his shield but he could only dispatch his foes one blow at a time, and he was much more hard-pressed than the barbarian.

\- "Is there no end to these things?" Aan shouted over the din of battle.

Galen offered no reply, keeping his focus on his tight defense. Just then, he noticed some of the dead imps rising again, dark smoke seeping into their wounds and twisting them back to unnatural life; the fallen shaman were weaving spells to reanimate their fallen warriors.

_The name finally makes sense _the paladin thought to himself with a grim chuckle. The sorcerous backline started flinging fireballs and his shield shook with the impacts while Aan was forced back, his armor scorched under the withering fire. To make matters worse, the twang of Dana's bow had gone silent.

Galen began to worry something had happened to her when a shaman was silenced mid spell by an arrow through the throat. The amazon had repositioned herself to get a clear shot at the enemy's backline, which became much too preoccupied with her to think about resurrecting their warriors. She danced among their fireballs, loosing shots in between her graceful evasions. Galen and Aan pushed forward, and the fallen line fell back before their onslaught.

Just as it seemed the tide was turning Dana witnessed a sight that chilled her blood. Fallen shaman were being raised just like their warriors as the others took up a strange chant.

"**Bishibosh! Bishibosh! BISHIBOSH!**"****

A big shaman, almost as tall as a man, stepped forth, summoning fire from the tip of his bone staff. The amazon understood that unless she killed that champion, there would be no victory here. She immediately strafed to avoid incoming fire while aiming shot after shot at the leader of the shaman, but each time one of their number would step in front of him to protect him, forming a shield of flesh.

Dana stopped in her tracks, realizing she would run out of arrows before winning by attrition. She took cover behind a rock and summoned the fires of Hefaetrus into an arrow that would immolate all the shaman in one great conflagration, but as fireballs crashed against her cover she noticed the champion was not joining in the barrage, instead weaving a fiery incantation that carried on the wind and seemed to ignite it. The fiery wind carved a burning pentagram on the ground, and she was at its center.

She loosed the arrow before it was ready, catching a couple of shaman in the blast, and ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Just as she made it to the edge of the burning circle the incantation reached its climax. She jumped as the pentagram burst in a fountain of infernal fire, as if the very gates of Hell had opened beneath her feet. The eruption sent her flying, badly scorching her legs.

Galen saw what was happening and immediately burst into action. He braced his shield, the golden light that encased his body burning brighter, and charged headlong into the fallen line, which parted before his implacable assault. Even in a phalanx the imps could not oppose his momentum, and he burst onto the backline of shaman, laying into them with complete disregard for protecting his now exposed back.

His gamble paid off, distracting the shaman long enough for the amazon to recover and drink a healing potion, but as he hammered into them he suddenly felt cold steel bite into his back. He swiveled instantly with the blow and turned to strike his new assailant. A shock of lightning traveled up his arm as he struck a blue fallen whose skin crackled with electricity just like the tainted beast they had met in the tunnel.

It was huge, at least compared to the rest of its kin, and though the paladin's blow had stunned it, it recovered and jumped back into the fray to the war cry of **RAKANISHU**! It took all of Galen's willpower to bring his spasming body under control and meet the leaping champion with a devastating shield bash that sent it sailing into the fallen line, where it fried those unlucky enough to be on the receiving end.

But the second shock had sent the paladin to his knee, and fireballs struck his back. He screamed in pain and turned to raise his shield, but his twitching arm refused to comply. Just as the shaman were about to unleash another volley a dazzling bolt of lightning pierced two of them and buried itself in the shaman champion. It was one of Dana's javelins.

Galen turned his attention back to the lightning enchanted fallen who was on his feet again and running at him, but he simply smiled as from behind the figure of the barbarian leaped over the other imps with a great shout and landed with an overhead chop that split the blue champion's skull. Aan shook with the crackling power that burst from his victim's corpse.

\- "N-n-not t-this ag-g-gainnnnnN!" he managed to articulate through chattering teeth.

The paladin stifled a laugh and moved to help his ally, but with both of their champions dead, the fallen scattered and fled screeching into the night.

Helping the barbarian to his feet, he set about healing his wounds as well as his own, while the twang of a bow informed him the amazon was picking off what remained of the fleeing demons. She soon made her way back to them.

\- "Whatever happened to ladies first?" she called out as she neared, and Galen noticed she was still limping. He rushed to her side so she could lean on him and took her to one of the cairn stones, against which he lay her down to examine her legs. Though the healing potion had undone much of the damage, they were still lightly singed. He placed his hands on them and called on the light.

\- "Oh sure," Aan teased, "tend to the pretty one before you're done healing me".

\- "Come now, we all know **I'm** the pretty one here," Galen shot back, which earned him a friendly punch on the shoulder from the amazon. The thought that she wouldn't begrudge him the title briefly flickered in her mind before she pulled her focus back to the task at hand.

\- "Time to see if our journey to the dark woods was worth it," she said as she rose to her feet. "You all remember what needs to be done?"

\- "Yes. It does seem strangely fortunate that we already meet most of the requirements for the ritual," the paladin mused.

\- "Let's just hope the fallen haven't tampered with the stones somehow," Aan chimed in as he examined the menhirs up close. They had been vandalized with crude depictions of the small demons engaging in acts that would inspire horror were they not drawn in such a comical fashion.

\- "Only one way to find out," Dana asserted as she pulled out a dagger. She placed it against her right palm and drew it deliberately. Galen offered her his hand and she took it, cutting a bloody gash in his palm as well. Aan received the same treatment. They then went their separate ways, each walking up to a monolith: the northman placed his bloody palm on the northernmost stone; the knight of Westmarch on the westernmost stone; the amazon from Skovos on the southwestern one. All three began to hum, their runes glowing white hot. Galen then produced two small vials filled with blood, which he used on the last two monoliths, then moved to a sixth that stood at the center of the circle and pressed his bleeding palm against it.

The circle came alive with magic, its hum amplified a thousand-fold until the sound seemed to rip a tear in the fabric of reality and a storm of lightning struck from a clear sky, hitting each cairn stone repeatedly and playing between them until the light grew blinding and drowned the landscape. When it faded, a glowing portal stood on the surface of the central stone. Impossible colors danced within. The barbarian edged closer, eyeing it with suspicion.

\- "Have I ever told you I hate magic? Especially the zappy kind. Especially today," he said to his companions as they stood before the swirling gateway.

\- "Shocking," the amazon quipped.

\- "Aren't you from the Thunder Tribe?" Galen was laughing.

\- "I don't mind thunder. Thunder is the laughter of Bul-Kathos. It's what comes before that worries me."

Still chuckling, the paladin took both of their wounded hands in his.

\- "Wait!" Aan exclaimed. "Don't heal us yet. In case this portal leads me to the ancestors, I want to have good company on the way." He drew each of his companions in a warrior's greeting, bloody palm against bloody palm, and made them do the same together. "There. Now we are blood brothers."

\- "And sister," Dana finished with a grin.

Galen placed a hand on each of their shoulders and light spread from his body to theirs, breathing fresh vitality into their tired limbs.

\- "This won't be the last time we shed blood together," he declared. "I could wish for no better allies." A playful smirk edged its way upon his lips. "Now which one of my brave allies volunteers to step through the portal first?"

\- "I've made my position perfectly clear," the barbarian said stone-faced. "The amazon is our pathfinder, isn't she?"

\- "Oh no," Dana replied, "everyone knows paladins lead the way."

\- "Whatever happened to ladies first?" Galen teased.

The amazon pretended to be terribly interested in some unseen point in the distance. The paladin chuckled, taking the shield from his back and the war scepter from his side. He took one big breath, as if he were about to dive into a lake, and stepped through the portal. The other two followed close behind. 


	9. Chapter 9

\- "We're too late."

The words fell like a sentence from the paladin's lips.

As he and his companions stepped through the other side of the portal, which shimmered within yet another cairn stone not too far from the cathedral, two things were immediately clear: Tristram had been burned to the ground, and those responsible were still there, playing in the ashes of their devastation. Demons swarmed the town like flies on a corpse, their outlines lit by the last dying embers of the ruins.

The trio's arrival had not gone unnoticed; roving bands of what the Vizjerei called "khazra", abominations in the shape of man and goat twisted together, were assembling at the periphery, bleating in alarm or bloodlust, Galen could not say which. More and more of them emerged from the town, their eyes reflecting the dull red glow of the aftermath.

\- "So all of this was for nothing?" Aan complained.

\- "Not for nothing," the paladin retorted as he strode forward, a grim expression set upon his features. "We can't save Tristram, but we can avenge it."

\- "There may yet be survivors," Dana suggested, though her words rang hollow even to herself. She planted her spear in the ground and drew her bow. "Either way we have to clear the town of demons."

\- "Carve a blood-road through the goatmen first, ask questions later," the northman confirmed as he hefted his broadaxe.

\- "CHARGE!" Galen roared as he launched himself forward shield first. Aan uttered a guttural cry and followed suit.

The khazra, who moments before were rushing in a frenzy towards the intruders, suddenly stopped in their tracks at the sight of these two lone warriors charging towards them.

Just as they found their courage and started moving forward again, Dana's arrows began to slam home into their ranks, instantly felling every target; their armor was too crude and haphazard to offer any real challenge to the amazon's masterful aim. Nine of them had already fallen when the paladin and the barbarian drove into their line with relentless fury.

The goatmen wielded polearms, and the initial contact was harder on Aan, who had no shield, but the paladin's silver aura of defiance helped turn away the brunt of the demons' attacks. The northman did his best to bat away the blades and spikes that were thrust at him with wide swings of his axe, and he repaid every glancing strike with a cleaving blow.

Meanwhile, Galen used his shield to get inside the reach of his enemies' weapons, where they were all but useless, and the Pillar of Heaven crashed like thunder upon goatman after goatman.

Soon, Dana joined the fray, her blazing spear flashing sudden death in the melee. The khazra were no match for the trio, but to their credit, even when their ranks were shattered and most of them lay dead or bleeding on the ground, they refused to flee, fighting to the last with frothing rage.

An eerie silence fell with the last goatman, but the amazon's senses told her the danger was far from passed.

\- "Stay on guard," she warned as they carefully edged their way into the town proper. "There's no telling what might be lurking in these ruins."

\- "Probably a lightning enchanted goatman," grumbled Aan.

\- "Fan out," Galen instructed, "but stay within earshot. Call out if you find foes or survivors."

Tristram was a maze of charred houses. Making sure they kept an eye on each other, the three of them navigated the gutted remains of the town, sifting through ash and rubble in search of any clues to the fate of its inhabitants. Inching their way towards the central square, they found the occasional corpse, as well as isolated pockets of fallen squatting the few buildings that still stood.

The paladin had just disposed of one such pocket in what looked like the remains of the town's smithy when a huge shadow in the form of a man appeared in the doorway to his left. The smell of death and decay that saturated Tristram seemed to get stronger.

\- "Who goes there?" Galen called out. "Don't be afraid, good sir, I'm here to help. Are you alright?"

The only reply he got was a low, tortured moan.

The paladin walked closer and summoned the pure light of creation, hoping to heal whatever afflicted the poor man as well as shed some light on the situation.

The moment his aura lit up the shadow man the latter bellowed in pain and anger, his now clearly undead flesh singed by the life energies. The enormous zombie, its tattered blacksmith's apron hanging on its rotting corpse, plowed into the knight before he could so much as raise his shield. Its unnatural strength was terrifying, and Galen was sent crashing into a scorched wooden pillar that collapsed instantly on top of him.

Aan and Dana rushed out of the respective ruins they were in to hurry to their ally's aid, but they found they weren't the only ones to be alerted by the commotion.

The town square was suddenly abuzz with the clatter of bones, skeletons rising from the ground and spilling from every broken archway in sight. Soon, there was an army of them, many carrying axes, swords and shields, a few with their bony hands wreathed in dark magics. They moved as one against the amazon and the barbarian, who retreated into a nearby building to gain a better defensive position.

Meanwhile, Galen lay dazed on the ground, but he recovered just in time to get back on his feet and defend himself against the rampaging undead smith. Though his blessed white aura seemed to hurt it, it wasn't enough to stop it from raining down massive fists upon his shield, powerful enough to rattle his bones.

The paladin decided to switch tactics, calling upon his golden aura of might to withstand the barrage of blows and retaliate with a vengeance. Deflecting its attacks, he drove his war scepter into the zombie again and again, but though each strike left a deep dent in the decaying flesh the abomination felt no pain and seemed unfazed. The black magic that animated it was strong. Worse, Galen realized that the cursed energies were afflicting him, sapping his strength. Were it not for the power of the light, he would have been completely overwhelmed.

Weathering a renewed assault, the paladin briefly wondered if he would come out on top in a battle of attrition when the monstrosity suddenly grabbed his shield with both hands; it pulled with all its unholy might at the obstruction that was preventing it from snuffing the insolent life that burned too brightly. Before he could react, Galen was lifted bodily from the ground and sent to collide with a nearby wall. Twice more the zombie used the shield as leverage to smash the paladin into the wall. The third time the wall gave way and the knight was sent crashing through, his shield ripped from his grasp.

He now lay stunned on the floor of a small adjacent room; he'd lost both his helm and his war scepter in the impact, and blood ran down his temple. The huge zombie loomed over him; his hand fumbled around the ash and debris about him, desperately feeling for the Pillar of Heaven's handle.

Instead, it found an unfamiliar grip. The paladin recognized the feel and weight of a sword without even a glance, and his body reacted on instinct. Wielding it two-handed, he surged upwards, meeting the smith's falling fist with the rising arc of his blade. The severed arm flew into the air, and Galen turned with his swing to launch a low cut at the blacksmith's leg. It met the same fate as the arm, and the zombie toppled onto its knees.

The blade rose one last time and fell like an executioner's axe upon the back of the creature's neck. Decapitated, the corpse hovered for a second in absolute stillness, as if it were uncertain whether to be alive or dead, before toppling to the floor. Taking deep breaths, the paladin took a moment to recover before turning his attention to the sword that now lay in his hands.

It gleamed in his aura like a river in the sun. It had minimal ornamentation, as it was clearly meant to be a warrior's tool first and foremost, yet it was exquisitely crafted all the same, and had survived the fire untouched. It's hand-and-a-half grip felt just as perfectly balanced in one hand as it did in two as he took a few practice swings with it, and its keen edge sang as it cut the air. Galen knew swords, and this one was the work of a master smith. He turned his eyes back to the headless corpse at his feet with a mix of reverence and sorrow, but before he could so much as offer a prayer, he finally heard the sounds of battle coming from outside.

He went to retrieve his helm, scepter and shield and rushed out of the smithy with his newfound blade in hand.

What he found was a legion of skeletons besieging a half-collapsed tavern, with his allies defending the breaches.

Aan effortlessly smashed any bone warrior that dared come within reach of his axe, but Dana was having a harder time of it, her spear woefully unsuited to fighting the undead. Cursing as her weapon once again caught in the ribs of one of her foes, she intensified its enchanted blaze to allow her to cut through bone and ripped it free. She began wielding it like a glaive, weaving patterns of deadly flame as she swung the blade. Still the skeletons poured in with no sense of preservation, trying to overwhelm the defenders with sheer numbers while their mages hammered the inn with dark fire.

Galen advanced on the horde, once again calling upon his blessed aura to provide a sanctuary of light that proved anathema to the undead. The skeleton horde melted before him, their bones crumbling as the unholy energies that held them together were burned away. His new sword made short work of those that were left in his path as he pushed forward towards Dana, who was barely holding back the tide of bone from her breach. The paladin's aura washed over her like a summer breeze, her cuts beginning to heal, and she could finally catch her breath as the skeletons fell back before his onslaught.

\- "How kind of you to show up to the battle!" she said snidely. "I'm not sure all of Hell heard the ruckus you made, perhaps a little louder next time?"

He offered her a sheepish smile as he took position at her side. The undead rushed in like moths to a flame, sightless eyes burning red with hatred for the living, their breathless voices cursing the unbearable white fire that blazed like the sun. Those that made it to the breach were in no shape to withstand the combined strength of arms of the three warriors; the horde broke upon them like waves on the shore, and soon exhausted itself.

Galen charged the skeleton mages while his companions mopped up the rest. The last cackling skull was split open by Aan's axe, and an eerie quiet once again fell upon Tristram.

\- "That was the last of them," the barbarian remarked. "Are we done with the avenging part?"

\- "If there were any demons left in Tristram they'd have heard us by now," the paladin replied.

\- "That's new," the amazon chimed in with a nod towards the sword in his hand. "Where'd you find it?"

\- "It found me," Galen replied mysteriously as he proudly displayed his new blade.

\- "Impressive," Aan said appreciatively. "A sword like that deserves a name."

The paladin gazed at his own reflection in the blade before answering.

\- "Providence," he decided. "I shall call it Providence. It came to me in my hour of need. Now, we must do the same for the survivors, if there are any. Let's continue the search, but stay on your guard. You never know what we might stumble upon."

\- "You think we'll find anyone alive?" the northman asked dubiously.

\- "I saw many bodies," the amazon interjected, "but too few for a town of this size. Either some of the townsfolk managed to flee, or they hid somewhere. I'd say the cathedral, were it not for its dark reputation."

\- "That's the last place the people of Tristram would seek refuge in," Galen confirmed. "Spread out, we'll cover more ground that way."

The paladin moved away, and Dana followed suit in the opposite direction. As the light from his aura and her spear receded, the barbarian found himself in near total darkness.

\- "Perfect. And on a moonless night," he complained to no one in particular. "With any luck, I'll find a glowing monster to light my way," he rambled on with false cheer as he stumbled back into the ruined inn.

Feeling his way more than seeing, he rummaged through the rubble, looking for any signs of life. Strangely, he mostly found scorched goatman corpses. Perhaps someone managed to hold out here, he reasoned. Soon, he came upon the stairs leading to what remained of the second floor. They were charred and broken in many places but were still standing.

Gripping the staircase's splintered rail, he negotiated the first few steps with great care. The wood groaned and protested under his massive weight, but held firm nonetheless. Satisfied, he made his way up more confidently, though still as light-footedly as he could muster.

He was almost at the top of the stairs when a loud crack echoed against the walls and he suddenly found himself plummeting. Both the stairs and the inn's floor gave way beneath him as he crashed down into the building's basement. It took him a moment to recover, but when he did he rose with a roar, more of anger than of pain.

It was then that a bolt of lightning flashed from behind him and struck him viciously, and this time the pain was clear in his voice as his body shook and his mouth shouted the obscenest profanities he could utter in both the common tongue and his native language. The stream of expletives was interrupted when a feminine voice called out.

\- "You're...you're human?! Who are you?! Friend or foe?!"

Aan turned to see a young woman holding a glowing staff standing in what looked like a cellar. Behind her, he could make out the shapes of men, women and children huddled together in the dim candlelight. Doing his best to compose himself, he raised a hand in a placating gesture.

\- "I'm a friend, but by Bul-Kathos' teeth I won't be so friendly if you zap me again!" He sighed, and tried to inject some calm into his tone. "I suppose you lot are the missing townsfolk. We're here to rescue you."

\- "We?" the woman asked, her exotic voice somehow both relieved and yet still tense. "There's more of you?"

\- "Yes, two more. They should be here any second, I doubt they missed _that_ commotion. I hope you give them a better welcome than me."

\- "I'm terribly sorry," she apologized sheepishly, finally lowering her staff. "It was dark and with your helmet I mistook you for a _khazra_...um, how do you say...goatman! I thought a demon had stumbled upon our hiding place and was warning his kin. We heard a battle earlier and didn't know what to make of it."

\- "The demons are all dead, there's nothing to fear anymore," he spoke aloud for all the others to hear. "It's safe to leave. I trust there's a way out of here other than the way I came in?"

\- "There is," another, older woman said as she came forward. "I can show it to you, my husband owns...owned this inn," she finished as sorrow threatened to overwhelm her features.

The northman offered her a sympathetic look and followed her to a corner of the cellar. The others, over a dozen of them, were already crowding around their savior, showering him with gratitude. _I could get used to this hero business_, he thought. Everyone seemed eager to walk out into the open air.

\- "We were told there was a sage here by the name of Deckard Cain," he spoke as he looked around at the hopeful faces. "Does he yet live?"

\- "_I_ am Deckard Cain, son of Bul-Kathos," an old man answered back as he stepped forth. "There is some life left in these old bones, yes."

\- "Akara will be glad to hear it."

\- "The high priestess of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye?"

\- "Yes, she's the one who sent us. We'll take you all to the encampment the rogues have built, there's a portal waiting to lead us back there."

The innkeeper's widow unlocked a heavily barred hatch but could not move it when she made to open it. It took all of the barbarian's considerable strength to throw open the doors despite all the rubble that weighed them down. Once he had made sure the way was clear, the townsfolk streamed into the open as Galen and Dana came running.

\- "These are the allies I told you about," Aan announced. "Good news, friends," he now addressed his companions. "I've found our survivors, and guess who's among them?"

\- "Deckard Cain, I presume?" the amazon walked up to the old man. "Thank the gods you're alright."

\- "Thank this young sorceress here," Cain replied with a gesture towards the staff wielding woman. "If it wasn't for her, none of us would be alive."

\- "We have many questions for you," the paladin interjected, "but they will have to wait. For now, let's get you and your people to safety, I'm sure you could all use a meal and a soft bed for the night."

\- "Your northern friend here mentioned a portal," Cain declared. "Surely you don't mean the cairn at the edge of town?"

\- "The very same," came Dana's reply.

\- "Then it seems I have many questions of my own to ask of you," the old man asserted. "But as you said, there will be time enough for questions tomorrow. Lead the way".

As the small band made their way out of the ruins of Tristram Galen noticed the light singe the northman had sustained.

\- "What happened to you?" he asked his blood brother. "Why didn't you tell me you required healing?"

\- "I don't want to talk about it," grumbled the barbarian.

\- "It's my fault," the young woman whom Cain had identified as a sorceress chimed in. "I thought he was a goatman and hit him with a lightning bolt."

For the life of her the sorceress could not understand why the paladin and amazon snickered all the way to the portal. 


	10. Chapter 10

The Hunter was still in the night sky, her arm eternally poised to throw her starry javelin at the void.

Dana stood alone on the palisade, gazing up at the familiar constellation as it began to fade in the dawn's creeping light.

The previous day had been long, and her sleep had been deep, but for the third morning in a row it had been cut short. Once again, she had risen before everyone else, and had found her way to the ramparts, alone with her thoughts. The reality of waking up to a world without Lydia was still a sharp, jagged thing that moved in her breast every time she breathed.

During the day or the evening, she could drown it in the urgency of action, in the din of battle, in the comforting presence of her newfound companions; somehow, they dulled the pain enough to allow her to function, even laugh.

But here, in the silent, twilit world that held its breath before the sunrise, the weight of her loss was inescapable. It was as if she was back in that first morning after, when it had all seemed like a bad dream, except she knew the cruel sun would inexorably rise and cast its harsh light upon the truth.

She was thankful at least for the quest she had undertaken; it filled her with a sense of purpose and drove her forward where she would have floundered if left to her own devices. She shuddered to think about what would happen when they'd vanquish Andariel and go their separate ways, provided they didn't die in the attempt. A cold breeze picked up and she clutched the fur-lined cloak she wore tighter to her body.

The sun peeked over the horizon.

\- "Hail, sir knight," she suddenly declared aloud. There was no trace of her sorrow in her voice.

\- "Oh, um...good morning, milady," Galen replied, surprised she had heard him approaching.

\- "Had enough beauty sleep?" she asked teasingly.

\- "You tell me," he replied with his best smile.

She made a face as if to appraise him.

\- "I'd give it another couple of hours," she decided impishly.

\- "And here I was hoping to charm Andariel into submission," he retorted wistfully.

\- "Because it's against your code to strike down a woman?" she suddenly asked in a more serious tone. Her voice held an edge.

The paladin said nothing for a moment.

\- "Listen, about our encounter with the corrupted rogues," he eventually spoke up. "I'm sorry, I failed you as a brother in arms. I left you to do the bloody work in my stead and even put you in danger. There's no excuse for it. It's...it's just been a while since I've had to end a human life."

\- "I need to know that I can trust you at my side," she said, turning to face him fully. "The dark rogues are dangerous and cunning adversaries, you cannot afford any hesitation."

\- "I promise you it won't happen again," he asserted as he looked her in the eyes. His face had that serious air knights wear when they pledge their sword to a lady.

\- "Good. Your mercy could end up getting you killed, and I've grown rather fond of you," she said with a small smile. "Your heart is too soft for the warrior's trade. It makes me wonder how you managed to survive a war."

\- "I almost didn't. Do you remember when I told you the war had claimed my grandfather's life?"

Dana simply nodded. His features grew even more contrite.

\- "What I didn't tell you was that it was my fault," he said at length, looking out towards the horizon. "When I got my first taste of real battle, I fought without killing intent, disarming or incapacitating my foes. Every wound I inflicted was non-fatal. I was good. I was really good, and I thought I could get away with it. But even a paladin cannot afford to disrespect his enemies like that, and there came a day when I was overwhelmed because of it. I would've died had my grandfather not sacrificed himself to save me. He paid with his life what I refused to pay with the foeman's blood," he finished, his clenched knuckles white from the strain.

\- "I'm sorry," she said simply, placing her hand on his. Her voice was gentler now.

\- "After that, I could no longer justify restraining my blade and endangering my brethren. So every day I went to war like a plowman goes to his field, and the harvest was rich and red. It was a nightmare I have not fully recovered from. In my dreams, I still see the faces of the knights and men-at-arms who fell to my blade. Some of them were no older than I was, fear etched on their young faces as the life drained from them. There wasn't even time to heal anyone until the end of the battle, and by then there were more corpses than prisoners."

\- "You did what you had to, and you saved the lives you could," she offered. "No one could ask more of you."

\- "I fulfilled my duty to my countrymen," he said, turning back to her, "no matter what it cost me, but I wished with all my heart I would never have to sully my hands again. Sadly, the world is a messy place and in the fight against evil even the innocent may come to harm. I understand that. It doesn't make it any easier. I won't lie, it's even harder when my enemy is a woman. I suppose an amazon like you would find that insulting."

\- "A little," she admitted, "but I understand. When I first left my island home, it took me a while to adjust to the idea of fighting men. I doubt any of your foes were innocent, however. Misled, perhaps, or blindly loyal, but no man may call himself innocent when he plays the part of conqueror. But as for the dark rogues, they are no better than demons."

The edge in her voice was back.

\- "What if they could be redeemed somehow?" he asked.

\- "They turned on their own sisters and slaughtered them without remorse. They must be hunted down and destroyed."

\- "Most of them did not choose this fate. Only Blood Raven and a few others fell to the dark powers willingly, and they had been driven mad by their experiences beneath Tristram. As for the rest, who knows what dark tortures were visited on them to break them? Would either of us have been stronger in their stead?"

\- "That doesn't change anything. They're too far gone; death is the only mercy we can offer them."

\- "You're probably right," he sighed. "Once again I must shed the blood of Hell's victims."

\- "I would kill a thousand of them if it could bring back Lydia!" she spat out.

The amazon's sudden outburst took Galen by surprise. She was usually so good at hiding her pain and anger behind a mask of competence and camaraderie, but the mask had slipped. She tried to bring her emotions back under control, yet her eyes welled with unbidden tears.

Before she could try to hide them, sudden warmth enveloped her and she found herself in the paladin's arms. An instant passed before she welcomed and returned the embrace.

They stood still in the morning light as time flowed strangely around them.

When they finally separated, she offered him a weak smile that wavered at the edge of shame and gratitude. The tears were now streaming freely across her cheeks. He tentatively wiped a few of them away, hoping she would not berate him for treating her like a dainty maiden. Amazons have their pride.

\- "I'm sorry," she said in a low voice. "I don't know what came over me."

\- "Please, don't apologize," he replied. "You've much to mourn and little time to do so. I know you've been putting on a brave face for our sake, but we're your friends. We're meant to share in your burdens."

\- "I don't want to be dead weight."

\- "Dead weight?" he scoffed. "We would never have made it this far without you. I've allowed my burdens to endanger us both, and yet you helped me bear them. You can trust me with yours."

Her smile grew wider, yet sadder.

\- "You remind me a little of her," she said. "She always knew just what to say to lift my spirits, as far back as I can remember."

\- "You grew up together, I take it?" he asked.

\- "Yes, we were childhood friends. We went together to the same lessons, trained together under the same masters, and played together in the palace. We were inseparable."

\- "You grew up in a palace?"

\- "Her mother is the queen of the Askari, and my mother the captain of the royal guard."

\- "Lydia was a princess?" he asked, his blue eyes wide like the sky.

\- "Not just a princess," she retorted. "The queen's eldest daughter and heir to the throne of Skovos."

\- "By all the fires of Heaven! What was she doing here, so far away from home?"

\- "It's a long story," Dana replied with a sigh. When Galen made no move to change the subject and instead gazed at her expectantly, she chuckled and leaned on the palisade, her eyes dancing to the hidden tune of her memories. "Lydia always hated the fact that she was being groomed to succeed her mother. She abhorred statecraft, and would find ways for us to sneak away from our tutors. As we became young women, she avoided the court like the plague, preferring to go hunting in the jungle. Her mother would try to introduce her to the sons of influential matriarchs and she would run off with me to participate in the arena games. She had always been wild at heart, and when we reached the time of our coming of age, she decided there was too much world out there to see to spend all her life in the Skovos isles. She wanted to taste the exciting life of a traveling mercenary, like many of our amazon sisters."

\- "What about you?" he inquired.

\- "I had trained to become her captain of the guard, and was sworn to protect her wherever she went. I had my misgivings about leaving, but I couldn't bear the thought of being separated from her. So when she boarded the first ship to the mainland, I was right there by her side, and I stayed by her side as we wandered the world in search of adventure. We always said we'd go home one day, when homesickness became stronger than wanderlust. Now, she will never see Skovos again." The tears threatened to return.

\- "What's it like? Skovos," Galen asked, trying to distract her from her pain.

\- "It's the jewel of Sanctuary," Dana spoke with a sudden surge of pride, though the paladin could also make out a tinge of nostalgia. "A lush island where nature is as beautiful as it is deadly, just like its women. Yet at the heart of that untamed jungle lies a great bastion of civilization, its white harbor the richest in the Twin Seas, its marble halls echoing with the words of the world's greatest orators and philosophers. Many of us leave our insular paradise for the thrill and glory of the mercenary life, but we often come to realize there's no place like it in all the world."

\- "You wish you were back home?" It was as much a statement as it was a question.

\- "Now more than ever," the amazon admitted.

\- "You miss your family," he continued, a note of regret in his voice.

\- "I've sent them letters over the years, though I've received none in return. I don't think my mother ever forgave me for shirking my duty, any more than the queen did Lydia."

\- "But you didn't shirk your duty," he objected. "You stayed true to your princess and followed her to the ends of the world."

\- "I was an accomplice to a runaway heir, and in so doing brought shame to our house. The truth is that after I left Skovos, Lydia was my only family. My best friend. My lover."

Another chuckle escaped her lips at the sudden redness in the paladin's cheeks.

\- "Your lo..." he stumbled upon the word, as though it were foreign.

\- "There you are!" Aan called out from below, and the paladin offered a silent prayer to the archangel of fate. "I've been looking everywhere for you two. Akara has summoned us to her tent."

\- "Let's not keep her waiting then." Galen walked briskly, heading to the sisterhood's headquarters.

\- "Wait!" the barbarian said. "Not this way."

\- "But that's where Akara is," Dana chimed in.

\- "Yes, but we're not going there yet. Another matter calls us first."

\- "What matter?" asked the paladin.

\- "Breakfast!" Aan stated with barely concealed glee. 

* * *

Akara's tent was crowded. The entire rogue leadership was there, as well as Deckard Cain and, standing protectively by his side, the young sorceress who had zapped Aan. Her unruly, curly light brown hair framed a sun-kissed face that betrayed her youth, yet a sharp mind shone through her vivid amber eyes.

The barbarian eyed the staff she held in her grip accusingly as he stepped inside, followed by Galen and Dana.

\- "Welcome, heroes," Akara greeted them with pomp they were not expecting. "We've been waiting for you".

\- "Apologies, priestess," Galen offered with a quick glance towards the northman. "It took us some time to get going this morning."

\- "Perfectly understandable," she granted. "You had a long night. Your brave efforts to rescue the last of the Horadrim have saved the lives of many, and may yet prove salutary for all of Sanctuary. Which brings me to the dire news I must now share with you. Cain and I have talked about recent events at length, and we have arrived at a terrible conclusion: that we are dealing with a far greater evil than Andariel alone. I'll let him explain."

\- "First," the old man began, "allow me to thank you with all my heart for saving me and what remains of my hometown. I am forever in your debt, and I will endeavor to repay that debt by accompanying you on your journeys, wherever they may take you. I expect you will need my counsel, for you face the Lord of Terror himself."  
A stunned silence ensued.

\- "How can that be?" Galen voiced what his allies were thinking. "Diablo was slain in the cathedral beneath Tristram."

\- "He was, yes," the Horadrim agreed but his tone implied there was more to the story. "As you all know many champions answered the call when darkness fell on our town, among them some of the Sisterhood of the Sightless Eye's foremost warriors. But the one who struck the killing blow against Diablo was none other than our prince, Aidan, King Leoric's eldest son. Many were lost in the fight against the demons beneath the cathedral, but when our prince emerged victorious from the labyrinth, we thought our troubles were over. We must have celebrated for weeks, throwing great feasts in honor of the heroes who had delivered us, yet Aidan remained quiet and sullen throughout. He was changed. He kept a cowl on even indoors, and what could be seen of his eyes looked haunted. He kept to himself and would sometimes wake up screaming at night; always something about "the east". He wasn't the only one. The other two who had survived the encounter with the Lord of Terror had also grown brooding and aloof. Whatever darkness gripped our prince seemed to afflict them as well. One was the rogue Moreina, whom you knew as Bloodraven; I do not need to tell _you_ of her fate. The other was a Vizjerei mage by the name of Jazreth."

\- "He must have fallen to the same infernal influence that corrupted Bloodraven," Dana surmised.

\- "He is not corrupted!" the young woman at Deckard's side exclaimed, but doubt soon clouded her outrage. "He is simply… not himself."

\- "This is Talia," Cain offered helpfully, "a sorceress of the Zann-Esu, and Jazreth's daughter."

\- "My father became more of a stranger every time he went back down into that accursed cathedral," Talia said bitterly. "By the end I could barely recognize him. He used to be self-assured and cheerful, but the horrors he experienced turned him into a disquieted and grim man. Whenever I would ask him about it, he would merely offer me a melancholy look. I thought it would pass with time, but one night he simply left in the dead of night, without a word. The rogue also disappeared."

\- "What of prince Aidan?" Galen asked. "Did he fall with Tristram? Or does he too serve the enemy now?"

\- "It is far worse than that, I fear," Cain answered. "He left town shortly after the other two heroes, and the following day we were suddenly beset by a horde of demons. Akara and I believe the dark wanderer that came to the monastery the night it fell was none other than the prince himself. Except he is no longer truly himself. He is now Diablo's vessel."

A heavy silence fell on the assembly as Cain's words sank in. The first to disturb it was Aan.

\- "What do you mean, "vessel"? Did he not slay the Lord of Terror?"

\- "He did," Cain conceded, "but the Prime Evils are more than just flesh and bone. Ever since the Dark Exile, when the three brothers were cast out of Hell, their spirits have been trapped in Sanctuary. The Horadrim were formed in order to capture their essence within mystical artifacts called soulstones so that they would no longer be free to possess mortals and wreak havoc upon mankind. They succeeded; Tristram's cathedral was built to guard Diablo's stone. I do not know how or why it has failed to contain him, nor how he has managed to corrupt the very champions who vanquished him. I simply know that he must be stopped. I fear he travels east to free his brothers and once again sow terror, destruction and hatred in the world."

\- "…and he has left Andariel behind to bar pursuit," the amazon suddenly realized.

\- "Which is more troubling than you know," Cain retorted. "That a Lesser Evil is aiding Diablo may mean that the forces of Hell are once again aligned behind him and his brothers."

\- "Let him cower behind his legions," the paladin said with sudden fierceness. "The very gates of Hell will not stand before our wrath."

Dana had never seen such fire in her companion before, not even in the midst of battle. His voice held more purpose and conviction, and his whole countenance was warlike, as if responding to some call to arms only he could hear. She felt an upswell of pride and stood a little taller for it, and she saw the same pride infect Aan's stance at the paladin's words.

Deckard Cain stared thoughtfully at the young knight before him, and a tentative smile formed on his lips.

\- "The priestess has told me of your valor. You three have faced untold dangers and come out victorious, but I fear the road ahead only gets more perilous. I will offer what assistance I can."

\- "As will I!" Talia blurted out. "The clan mothers have long predicted the emergence of evil. It is the reason I traveled to Tristram with my father. I will fight by your side."

Galen hesitated, exchanging a look with the amazon. Whilst a spellcaster would be a welcome addition to the party, the sorceress looked too young to have seen much battle.

\- "We took _you_, didn't we?" Dana remarked wryly, as if reading his mind.

\- "Perhaps it's best you stay to help defend the camp," the paladin told Talia.

\- "Oh no, not this time," she replied petulantly. "My father told me the same thing back in Tristram, ordered me to defend the townsfolk while he went down into the cathedral to face the demons. Look where that got us. I will not be relegated to guard duty again."

\- "He only meant to keep you safe," Cain said placatingly.

\- "I am a battlemage of the Zann-Esu," Talia retorted as she drew herself up, though her slight frame made the pose more endearing than formidable. "I do not need to be protected."

\- "I do not doubt your power," the old man replied. "Without you, no one from Tristram would be left alive today. Still, I wish your seniors were here to fight in your stead."

\- "You fought off the demons alone to protect the townsfolk?" the amazon asked the sorceress.

\- "Yes, though I could only save a few," the sorceress replied dejectedly. "I defended Ogden, the innkeeper, while he gathered as many of the survivors as possible in his cellar before the town was completely overrun. He…he went out one last time to look for more survivors, but he never made it back. I could only hold the _khazra_ off so long before the inn burned down around me and I had to dive into the cellar."

\- "You did all you could," the paladin offered consolingly. "It was very brave of you."

\- "Well I'm convinced," the amazon declared. "We'll be honored to have you fight by our side."

\- "Very well," Galen conceded. "We're hardly in a position to turn away powerful allies. Don't worry, elder," he added upon seeing Cain's apprehensive demeanor. "We look out for each other."

Everyone turned to Aan, expecting him to voice his approval, but all he offered was a grunt.

\- "Now that that's settled," Akara spoke up, "I'm afraid further discussion will have to wait. Knowing what we now know, we can no longer afford to stay idle behind our walls. We must retake the monastery as soon as possible. Every moment we delay allows Diablo to slip farther from our grasp. Kashya?"

\- "I have already sent scouts ahead of you to reconnoiter the Rakkisroad leading up to the monastery," the redhead announced. "They will thwart any ambushes and harass any enemies still roaming the countryside."

\- "Then we shall set out immediately," the paladin declared. "Talia, you're welcome to join us at our tent for preparations."

The young woman turned to Deckard Cain as if loathe to leave his side; she had spent so long as his de facto bodyguard she had taken the role to heart. He offered her a fond smile and a simple nod.

\- "Do no worry, my child. I'll be perfectly safe here."

His words easing her uncertainty, she joined her new companions in arms with no small degree of trepidation. She knew next to nothing about these people, yet the knight, who looked not much older than she was, emanated a warm and soothing presence, and something about the tall blonde reminded her of her older sisters in the clan. The gruff barbarian, on the other hand, was a different story; he did his best to ignore her royally.

She sighed inwardly as she was reminded of a Zann-Esu proverb: _The first element will sing for you. The second will dance with you. The third will laugh at you._

She allowed herself a confidant smirk; that proverb had never applied to her. 


	11. Chapter 11

Paige scanned the vicinity from atop the ruined tower she was perched on. It had taken all of her considerable climbing skills to find a way up the crumbling stones and creeping vines, but it was worth it. From up here, she could see leagues away, and she needed a good vantage point to try and spot the other scouts. The tower was their rendezvous point, yet she was the only to have returned from her patrol. They couldn't be far, she reasoned; she had gone the furthest afield, and she had expected to be the last one in.

An unbidden sense of dread crept up on her, and she suddenly felt very alone under the grey skies. She immediately dismissed it as paranoia. She had seen few enough enemies about on her patrol, and she had dealt with them from a safe distance; even if some of her sisters had been less lucky, they couldn't all have run into trouble. Perhaps she had simply been less cautious and methodical, and the others were still out there on the prowl.

In any case she was quite safe hidden in this decrepit stronghold; it was the first location they had scouted to make sure it was clear of demons. The locals called it the Forgotten Tower and all sorts of crazy legends surrounded it, yet all they found was an overgrown ruin. The tower was the only part of the castle that wasn't rubble, the rest of it marked by a mere stony hedge where the battlements used to be. The clouds were low and heavy, and it felt like it would soon rain.

_Great_, she thought to herself, _as if the Black Marsh weren't wet enough_. She hoped the weather wouldn't force her to abandon her perch; she felt much more in control up here, where she could see anyone coming a mile away, friend or foe.

\- "Speaking of which," she muttered as she spied moving figures on the main road that wound its way close to the castle.

As if on cue, the sun peeked from behind the clouds, giving her a better look at the newcomers. She could make out four of them: in the van was a man in brown and blue armor, a shield of the same blue strapped to his back. She wasn't sure who it was until she saw the bear of a man just behind him; there was no mistaking the huge barbarian. It was the band of heroes she and the others were waiting for.

Her eyes briefly glanced over the smaller woman in the middle, whose mess of curly brown hair fell upon strangely exotic teal and yellow robes, to alight upon the tall one bringing up the rear: golden scale mail over brown leather armor; dark blonde hair braided on top and tied into a ponytail; strong features set in a noble face.

She would recognize them anywhere. There was no shortage of beautiful women in the Sisterhood, yet Paige thought the amazon was the most breathtaking example of womanhood she had ever seen. The day she showed up in the rogue camp was like sunrise after a long night, her golden locks and armor a promise of the sun. The mood among the sisters had been dire, yet the Askari's arrival had rekindled hope. Paige had seen the two in action as they cleared the Blood Moor of foes, and her infatuation with Dana only grew. She had yearned for nothing more than to follow her into battle, even against Andariel herself.

Perhaps today was the day she'd finally get the opportunity.

Plucking a signal arrow from her quiver, she aimed just ahead of the party and loosed. The missile arced upwards into the sky, whistling loudly enough to draw the attention of anyone within a mile. The four travelers looked up, tracking the sound until they saw the arrow thud into the gravel a few feet ahead of them. Retracing its path, they turned towards her, and she waved at them to join her.

Satisfied that they had seen her and were making their way over, she carefully climbed her way back down the inside of the tower, doing her best to keep her excitement in check lest she meet the ground sooner than anticipated.

She was halfway to the bottom when she noticed something she had not before. Looking down, her eyes were drawn to a flash in the rubble; something was catching the sunlight filtering in. Once on the ground, she walked over to the object, bending down to examine it.

It was a necklace, its pendant bent and splattered with blood. At first, she couldn't make out what it represented, but there was something terribly familiar about it. Then she recognized it, and a chill went down her spine: it was in the shape of an eye, with a hole where the pupil should be; the symbol of the Sisterhood.

Panic gripped her heart, her senses suddenly on alert for hidden dangers. She heard the sound of footsteps and shifting rubble behind her, and in one fluid motion she turned on her heels and knocked an arrow to her bow, ready to shoot whatever had snuck up on her. Her wild stare fell on Dana, who eyed her strangely.

\- "That's no way to welcome the reinforcements", the amazon quipped.

\- "I'm…I'm sorry," Paige replied, lowering her bow. "I was…I don't...the others…"

The bewildered look on the rogue's face told Dana enough: something was wrong. She held her spear at the ready, scanning the ruin for threats as her companions joined her.

\- "What happened?" she asked in the voice of a captain demanding a report, at once commanding and reassuring.

\- "The other scouts. We…we were to meet back here after our patrol, yet none of them came back. I thought maybe they were simply late, but I just found this," she said, presenting the necklace to the amazon as the rest of the band wondered at the strange tension in the room. They had not been expecting trouble.

Dana turned the pendant this way and that, and her eyes betrayed her alarm.

\- "This blood is fresh. Something happened to one of your sisters, maybe even all of them. Did you not secure this perimeter?"

\- "We did," Paige assured her. "We chose this ruin as our base of operations because it's the only landmark for miles, and it was completely abandoned when we found it. No demons, no corrupted rogues. Unless they were somehow hiding beneath the rubble there was no foe here when we left to scout the surrounding marshes. Maybe the legends are true; this place is cursed. We should never have come here," she concluded, a trembling in her voice.

\- "Legends?" the smaller woman at the back asked aloud in her peculiar accent. "What legends?"

\- "It's said that a long time ago," the rogue began, "back when the land was ruled by Rakkis, the lady of the castle sought to extend her life by bathing in the rejuvenating blood of a hundred virgins. For her crimes, the murderous countess was besieged by Rakkis and buried alive with her retinue as her stronghold crumbled around her; this tower is all that's left of it. The locals whisper that the countess still haunts this place, ready to abduct unwary maidens. I never believed it until now."

\- "Rakkis lived two centuries ago," the paladin interjected. "Your countess, if she ever existed, is long dead and buried. This is most likely the work of corrupted rogues; demons would've left more of a mess. That means there might yet be a chance to save your sisters." He turned to Dana. "Can you track them?"

The amazon set about searching the inside of the ruined tower, kneeling here and there to look for clues. She slowly made her way to the thickest part of the mass of vines that snaked their way across the stonework, and stopped. She reached a hand into it, then the arm, then her entire body, and just like that she disappeared from view.

The others exchanged worried glances before her hand reappeared from among the vines, beckoning them to join her. Galen took the lead and parted the foliage to find the Askari standing in a small, half collapsed stairway leading down. Her spear tip was already ignited to light the way. They both moved forward to allow the others to file into the passage.

\- "It looks like these ruins aren't so abandoned after all," Dana remarked. "Whatever took your sisters came from here."

Paige stared into the darkness ahead, the sense of dread she felt, the one that had been building up ever since she came back to find no one, coming to a climax. Rogues were not made to fight in tight spaces. Grabbing her bow as steadily as her nerves allowed, she summoned up her courage and stood beside her role model. She would prove herself to the amazon as a battle sister.

\- "Then lead the way." She wished her voice sounded as fearless as her words.

\- "I'll bring up the rear," the paladin offered. "Talia, stay close to Aan."

The barbarian sighed in resignation and followed the leading pair as the sorceress fell into step behind him. She was no more pleased than he was; she had been trapped underground for many weeks and had regained her freedom only yesterday. She did not look forward to this subterranean trek.

Galen summoned his silver aura of protection to envelop his allies, and the party was illuminated by the two poles of light, one in the front, the other at the back.

The stairway went on for some time, but when they cleared it, they found themselves in a winding, labyrinthine corridor; in every direction stood barred doors leading to small cells or unseen rooms in the darkness. Dana led the way as if she knew the place intimately, and the others just followed.

\- "These must be the dungeons," Galen remarked. "I've never seen anything this extensive though. Whoever built this must have been a tyrant."

\- "Perhaps the tales of the blood-bathing, virgin-snatching countess are true," Talia suggested nervously.

\- "Stay close, holy man," Aan taunted. "We wouldn't want you to get snatched."

The paladin stared daggers at the northman's back, but a mischievous smile soon replaced his glower.

\- "So Talia, I assume you're a storm mage?" he asked as if to make small talk.

\- "I'm an elementalist," came the response. "All the women of my clan learn to bend the most destructive of nature's elements to their will. Lightning is indeed one of them, but there's also fire and frost. To be honest though, only the brightest manage to master all three. I happen to be one of those prodigies," she finished with a note of pride.

\- "Well if we should happen upon any enemies," he offered, "perhaps you should focus on your lightning spells. In such close quarters, blasts of flame and ice may prove…perilous to the rest of us."

\- "As you say," the sorceress replied.

A small smirk bent the corner of Galen's lips as the barbarian's mood sobered visibly. The band slowly moved deeper into the dark maze, wary of a potential ambush. As they went down another flight of stairs, the air grew even more stale.

\- "This place reeks of death," the paladin noted apprehensively.

A grim sight awaited them at the entrance to the second level of the dungeon: the desiccated corpse of a rogue impaled on a spike, left as a warning to intruders. Before Dana could react, Paige pushed past her towards the gruesome totem. She stared at it unmoving, until a single name escaped her lips.

\- "Flavie."

Dana placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

\- "I'm sorry. Was she one of yours?"

\- "No," the rogue replied mournfully. "She was one of the first scouts Kashya sent out to keep track of the enemy's movements after we lost the monastery. She was also one of the first to disappear."

\- "Then there might yet be time to avert this fate from befalling your other sisters." The paladin injected some poise in his voice despite the horror he felt. "We must press on."

They began moving forward again, Talia sticking even closer to the barbarian to his great annoyance.

It wasn't long before they ran into signs of life; they were towards the end of a long hallway when the sound of marching hooves drew closer from around the corner. Dana held up her hand to signal a halt, and Galen joined her to form a frontline while the sorceress poked her head from her hiding place behind the northman's broad back.

A patrol of goatmen soon appeared, their furry bodies covered in blood-red warpaint.

\- "Blood clan _khazra_!" the sorceress exclaimed. "The foul spawn of Bartuc," she spat the name like a curse.

Paige and Dana were already drawing their bows, the rogue's expression a mask of grim determination and controlled rage. In response, the goatmen began bleating their war cries and charged furiously down the hallway. The first two instantly fell to the dual archers, but the ones behind simply trampled their fallen comrades in their bloodlust.

Aan heard a crackling sound behind him and turned just in time to see lightning arc past him to strike the lead demon, then jump to another, then another, snaking its way among the confused vanguard.

\- "Mind where you cast, witch!" the barbarian shouted angrily. Ignoring Talia's offended demeanor, he moved forward to catch up to the paladin and amazon who were already charging into the fray.

The disorganized goatmen quickly fell before the trio's furious onslaught, their cumbersome polearms no match for the skilled sword, axe and spear.

The eerie quiet that permeated the dungeons returned as the sounds of battle died down. Paige was not so sure that was a good thing. She felt an overwhelming urge to run back towards the entrance and leave this place behind forever, but Dana turned back to her expectantly, and she found her courage again. Taking up her position beside the amazon at the fore of the party, she kept her eyes fixed on the darkness ahead, ready to stick a shaft between the eyes of the first thing that dared show itself.

But the first thing that showed itself did not come from ahead, or even from behind; it came from the walls.

The rogue screamed as a wraith-like being sprang from the wall to her left and sank its ectoplasmic tendrils into her. It was like death itself had touched her, draining the life from her body, and a cold like she had never felt before seeped into her bones. She tried to struggle, but to no avail, her limbs moving as if underwater. All around her, her companions were similarly beset, and no help was forthcoming from them. The northman was trying to cleave his foe with big swings of his axe but the blade could find little purchase in the ghost's ethereal form. The paladin wasn't having any more luck, his sword passing through the specters like an oar disturbing a lake.

Darkness closed in around Paige, and the thought that this is what drowning must feel like drifted across her waning consciousness.

She was about to succumb completely when Dana's blazing spear pierced the wraith attacking her and it recoiled with a shriek, its ectoplasm burning away. Nearby, Talia's staff spit a stream of fire at the ghosts closing in on her, incinerating them before they could touch her. The amazon helped Paige back to her feet.

\- "Grab your bow, and use fire arrows." the amazon commanded. "More are coming!"

More specters were indeed edging closer, floating with a lazy nonchalance that belied their deadly intent. At the same time, she heard vicious bleating from down the hall as more goatmen rushed towards them. The rogue rallied her flagging strength and took aim, trying to decide which foe presented the most immediate threat.

That decision was made for her when the silver aura that enveloped her turned to a pristine white that suddenly lit the passage. Every ghost around immediately screeched in pain and began to dissipate, their undead energies burned away by the holy light. What's more, she felt her strength returning, fueled by a sudden influx of life.

Galen was by her side then, his shield a wall to ward off the missiles from the goatmen archers who had just arrived. Her mind focused again, she found her marks and loosed arrow after arrow, silencing the khazra backline before they could threaten her allies who moved forward to engage the rest.

The battle was short-lived, and Paige relished in the feeling of still being alive.

Something strange had happened. She should have been shaken by how close she came to death, yet instead she felt profound calm and relief, as though a weight had lifted from her shoulders. Something awoke in her that had not been there before: a confidence she had not felt since the demons took over her home. She felt invincible with these formidable warriors by her side, and it eclipsed her fear. In that moment she vowed to herself that she would fight by their side no matter where their journey took them.

\- "Are you alright?" the paladin asked her with concern in his eyes.

She offered him the brightest, most confident smile she had, and she meant every tooth of it.

\- "Never better," she answered.

Reassured, he returned her smile.

\- "It seems the rumors about this place being haunted were more than mere folk tales," he mused. "I'm starting to wonder if the legends are real after all."

\- "Don't worry," Dana said as she patted him on the back. "I'll keep you safe."

\- "With what?" he quipped, "I'm the one with the shield."

\- "This is true," the barbarian joined in. "You make a poor shieldmaiden."

\- "Who said I was a shieldmaiden?" she replied.

\- "Women fight with shields," Aan insisted. "That is how it is back home."

\- "None of your men do?"

\- "No, shields are for women."

\- "_I_ carry a shield," Galen protested.

\- "And you're prettier than most of the women in my tribe," the northman retorted.

\- "…Dana, remind me to sleep on _your_ side of the tent tonight."

\- "What makes you think you'd be safer with me?" the amazon asked suggestively.

To the rogue's amazement, the trio continued their banter as the party began moving again, as though they were taking a pleasant stroll through the woods. It only reinforced the infectious courage she felt in their presence.

Their chatter was eventually interrupted by muffled crying that echoed against the surrounding stonework. It sounded like a woman and came from further ahead. Paige's heart leaped in her chest, hoping she had already found one of her missing sisters still alive. Before Dana could stop her, she rushed ahead into the darkness. 


	12. Chapter 12

The Amazon quickened her pace to catch up to Paige, fearing the rogue had rushed headlong into unseen danger, and the rest of the band followed suit.

They drew nearer to the source of the crying until they found Paige gripping the iron bars of a dark cell, trying to peer inside. Dana poked the head of her flaming spear between the bars to illuminate the interior.

A woman in a rich burgundy dress was curled up in the corner, weeping. The sudden intrusion of light made her jump and she began to scream.

\- "Calm down," the amazon enjoined, "we're not going to hurt you," but the woman was too panicked to listen and curled up even further.

\- "I can open the door," Paige offered. She produced a lockpick from her belt and set to work. Despite the distracting cries of the woman inside, she soon defeated the lock and the gate swung open.

At this the prisoner cried out even louder than before.

\- "NO! STAY BACK!"

\- "Put that thing away," the paladin urged Aan with a meaningful look towards the barbarian's axe as he sheathed Providence in its new scabbard. He also hung his shield on his back and took off his helmet to appear as unintimidating as possible. He pushed past Dana and Paige to enter the cell and kneeled before the woman.

\- "Don't be afraid, we're friends," he said as gently as he could. "We're here on a rescue mission. Come with us, we'll get you out of here," he finished, offering his hand.

She looked up at him with wide, honey-colored eyes that studied him carefully; she was stunning, her jet black hair framing an aristocratic face that looked as though it were a painting. He was taken aback by her beauty but he tried not to show it.

Her hand reached out hesitantly to grab his. When it did, he returned her grip firmly and offered her a reassuring smile. The moment he helped her to her feet she leaped into his arms, embracing him tightly.

\- "It's alright now," he said soothingly. "You're safe."

\- "First ghosts," Talia whined aloud, "and now abducted maidens. Next we'll find out the missing rogues are all chaste."

\- "Enough with the Countess stories," the paladin berated her before turning back to the woman clinging to him. "What's your name?"

\- "Lisa," she replied in a hush.

\- "Lisa, how did you get here? Where are you from?"

\- "I was traveling to Eastgate Keep with my escort when demons fell upon us," she recounted with a tremulous voice, and her lilting accent was strangely old-fashioned. "They killed my poor brave men and took me captive. Please, get me out of this horrid place," she begged, refusing to let go of her savior.

Galen looked back at the others, weighing his options.

\- "Talia, perhaps it would be best if you take her to safety while we press on ahead."

The sorceress didn't have time to protest against being relegated to escort duty again before Lisa saved her the trouble.

\- "Please don't leave me, sir knight!" she cried as she clung even tighter to him.

Slightly embarrassed, he met Dana's eyes. He did not like the idea of abandoning his party, but he could not in good conscience leave this woman here, even less take her further into danger.

Something strange flickered in the Amazon's eyes but she offered him a simple nod.

\- "Don't worry about us," she answered his silent question. "We can handle whatever lies ahead without you. Akara gave us some potions in case we need healing. Take her back to the surface, we'll meet you there when we're done."

\- "Keep them out of harm's way," he said with a grateful smile.

Dana led the others away, the orange glare of her spear receding, leaving only the pure white of his aura. When they were alone, he nudged the woman in his arms as gently as possible.

\- "Lisa, I'm going to take you back up top, alright? Just stay close."

She merely nodded into his neck where her head was buried, but made no move to relinquish him. He smiled empathetically at the display and decided to give her time to work up her courage. It wasn't as though the situation was unpleasant.

In fact, it was a bit _too_ pleasant, he realized as she squirmed against him. This wasn't the time or place for such thoughts, he berated himself. He tried to dismiss the feeling but he could not deny the heat that was building up in his body. He couldn't understand why he was reacting like this. This was no way to think about a damsel in distress. Sure, the damsel in question was stunning, but he had been surrounded by beautiful women ever since he'd arrived at the rogue encampment, and he had never allowed that to distract him. Yet now he felt an overwhelming urge to abandon himself to her embrace.

He shifted uncomfortably, his shame overriding his desire, and was about to try to disengage himself when he felt a sudden pain in his neck. He inhaled sharply at the sensation, but it was soon replaced with a tantalizing numbness that traveled through his veins.

He tried to push the woman away but her grip was like unbending steel, and she only squeezed him tighter. She was far stronger than a maiden had any right to be, and his strength was leaving him by the second.

An onrush of dizziness took him and he went limp in her arms, his helm clanging on the floor as it fell from his nerveless hand, yet she held him there as though he weighed nothing, despite his war gear; one hand around his waist, the other at the back of his head, and her lips still at his neck.

His vision was going dark when she finally removed them, and his eyes focused again to see them stained red with his blood and curled into a predatory smile.

\- "Aaaah, fresh blood," the woman calling herself Lisa purred with self-satisfied delight. "What a fortuitous day. The lamb wanders willingly into the wolf's lair. How kind of you and your friends to offer yourselves so freely."

\- "You…", he managed weakly, "are the Countess!"

\- "It is too late for that now," she said with mock sympathy. "Pretty young things like you should better heed the warnings of your elders. Legends exist for a reason."

He tried desperately to stand on his own, to push her away, but his body failed him and she simply let him fall to his knees. Her crystalline laugh echoed against the cell's walls as she watched him struggle to remain upright, and she bent down to his level, cupping his face gently with her hand.

\- "I love it when they have spirit. It makes it all the sweeter when they finally give in."

She was so close he could smell her breath. It had a metallic tang.

A sudden realization struck him. A vampire should be unable to stand anywhere near him while he was enveloped by holy life energies, yet she was completely unaffected. Perhaps she was protected by a barrier of some kind?

He tried burning his aura even brighter, yet all it provoked from her was an appreciative smile, as if her prize merely gleamed more alluringly.

\- "What kind of vampire are you?" he managed to ask.

Her clear laughter echoed again.

\- "Vampire? Oh you dear, sweet boy. Do I look undead to you?" she asked, flaunting herself. A seductive glint shone in her eyes and she pressed her body against his. "Do I _feel_ undead?" she whispered in his ear. Her warmth seemed to envelop him. "Vampires are nothing more than those I've made into my eternal servants. _I_ am just as alive as you are, though I've been around for much, much longer."

\- "How?" he demanded simply. Despite how troubled he was by both his predicament and her bewitching magnetism, his strategic side was trying to buy time. His aura may have had no effect on her, but it was slowly replenishing the blood he had lost. He just had to keep her talking long enough for him to regain his strength.

\- "You've never heard of blood magic?" she taunted as she leaned back and started playing with his hair. "I learned it from demons a long time ago, and it has allowed me to feed on the lifeforce of others to preserve my youth. Oh, the last two centuries have been a dry spell, and I had to content myself with the blood of lost travelers and the occasional treasure hunter. Meager fare at the best of times," she continued in that same jaded, aristocratic tone, as though she were entertaining guests for tea. "But a while ago the land began to change," her voice was more confidential now. "I could smell it in the air: the sweet taint of demonic corruption. It made me stronger, and before long lovely maidens began showing up practically at my doorstep: young, strong, pure. The hunt has been good of late. But now," she whispered while grabbing the back of his head, "I have caught myself an exceptional quarry. I had originally planned to isolate the young mage in your party, but once I caught a whiff of you as you gallantly tried to comfort me, I knew I couldn't wait to taste you," she finished, sniffing his neck.

\- "I thought you required the blood of virgins," he demurred, desperate to avoid another bite.

\- "Virgin blood is indeed exquisite, but I care little whether my prey is a chaste girl or a harlot, a noblewoman or a milkmaid, a man or a woman. All that matters is how pure the blood is. And yours, sweet boy, is unlike anything I have ever tasted. It holds such power, such vitality. I usually turn the strong ones into my vampire slaves, bound to me by a ritual blood pact, but you…it would be a waste to snuff your delicious life. I _will _break you like the others, and you _will_ offer yourself to me, but I won't turn you. I will keep you as my willing prisoner to feast on whenever I please, and you will learn to love your mistress's red kisses. I will teach you delights a mortal like yourself could only dream of."

\- "I am a knight of Westmarch," Galen declared with returning strength. "No amount of pleasure or pain will avail you."

\- "They all say that at first. Courage is easy while you still have hope, but when the cycle of torture and ecstasy becomes your night and day, when my goodwill is the key to either heaven or hell, you will beg to serve me. Oh, you will wish to die before then, perhaps even refuse to eat or drink, but you will obey me if you want your friends to live. Now that they are without their leader, my minions will have no trouble capturing them."

Instead of the look of panic she had expected, Galen simply smirked at the countess.

\- "You underestimate my friends," he said before his expression turned dead serious. "And you underestimate me!"

The gentle white of his aura suddenly shifted to a swirling gold and he began to rise. She tried to restrain him again but found that his strength was beyond even hers now, pushing her away with one hand while drawing his sword with the other, despite her firm grip.

With one final grunt of effort the blade came free and carved a gash across her abdomen, forcing her back. Her blood spilled out, but almost immediately started writhing unnaturally as the wound began to close.

Her eyes narrowed at her foe, studying him, trying to understand how the prey that had been at her mercy a moment ago was suddenly overpowering her. Her gaze alighted on his neck, where the twin bite marks she had left him with should have been; except they weren't there. Laughter burst out of her crimson lips.

\- "Marvelous! You have healing powers!" she exclaimed with renewed greed in her eyes. "A banquet that replenishes itself; I could not have asked for a better boon."

She raised a hand in his direction and began to mutter in a forgotten tongue. Before he could charge her, Galen felt a horrible burning sensation spread across his veins, as if his blood had been set on fire. He cried out and dropped to one knee from the intense pain. His eyes too burned excruciatingly, and when he looked up at the Countess his vision was blurred.

\- "What did you do to me?" he managed to grunt through gritted teeth.

\- "Did you think I merely drank your blood earlier?" she answered in her signature haughty tone. "Once you've received my kiss your blood is tainted with my magics. Do you understand now? You are _mine_. Resist me, and I will bury you in _pain,_" she emphasized as she moved in a blur to pick him up and slam him violently against the cell wall, pinning him with her body. "Submit, and I will drown you in _pleasure_," she crooned huskily into his ear, then claimed his lips with her own.

The pain vanished at once and was replaced with ecstasy that flared its way across his every nerve. His eyes flew open, his thoughts a maelstrom of conflicting emotions. She kissed him the way only a woman with centuries of experience could; he had never been the object of such unbridled passion before, and something inside him wanted desperately to stop fighting it, to never have to fight again, to just let go and give in.

His sword hand began to slacken. The sheer rapture that overwhelmed his senses robbed him of his will to struggle, and his aura waned as he melted into her embrace, enveloped in her arms and the growing darkness.

\- "Good boy," she purred against his lips. She continued kissing him as her hands began roaming across his body, digging for his naked skin, but his armor frustrated her.

She set about undressing him, first unbuckling his sword belt and baldric. But as she did so, his scabbard and shield fell to the floor with a loud clang, and the sound jolted him out of his lustful daze.

The Countess sensed the sudden tension in his limbs and she moved from his lips to his neck as she tilted his head to expose it. Again, her fangs bit deep. Again, the pleasant numbness flooded his senses. Again, he felt his strength leaving him.

He was starting to drift away when an image of Dana leading the others into the darkness of the dungeon flashed in his mind, and his hand tightened around his sword.

The Countess's lips relinquished her prey with a scream as Providence skewered her, and she stumbled away from the paladin, blood oozing from the stab wound.

Her eyes ablaze with fury, she chanted her ancient curses again, and Galen's blood once more ignited in agonizing pain. He fought with every fiber of his being to stay on his feet despite his weakened state, his body shaking as he summoned his reserves of willpower.

He had to remove her taint from his blood, and soon.

Despite the torment assaulting his senses he managed to focus inward, calling upon a familiar resonance within. A clear, pale blue aura flowed out from him in waves, moving back and forth like water on the shore. He had used this cleansing light many times before to clean wounds and heal the sick. Its cool touch soothed the burning in his blood, and his hunched posture slowly swelled with confidence as the taint was purged from his veins.

Seeing him stand tall against her powers as her grip on him faded, the Countess's eyes widened with fear. She darted out of the cell with inhuman speed, fleeing into the darkness, but as she looked back down the dim corridor the light emanating from her foe shifted to a fierce gold, and before long he was hot on her heels. She could scarcely believe it, but this mortal was moving as fast she was; no matter how hard she tried she could not outrun him. She veered left and right, trying to lose him in the labyrinthine passageways she knew by heart, but always she turned to see the golden light closing in on her.

Galen followed the trail of blood by the light of his aura, running doggedly after the Countess with the unbridled energy it endowed him with. As he rounded another corner, he came upon the site of their earlier battle with the goatmen, and he slowed down. The trail he was following mingled with the blood of the dead khazra, and he could no longer make it out.

He walked urgently forward, keeping an eye out for any sign of the blood mage, afraid he was about to lose track of her, but that fear was quickly dispelled as she appeared within his vision, slumped on her knees in the middle of the carnage he and his party had wrought here. He walked up to her carefully, wary of any traps, and placed his sword at the side of her neck. He could now see that the ground beneath her was wet with her blood.

\- "You've won," she spoke haltingly. "A bitter victory, when you could have had an eternity of sweet bliss at my side. I would have showered you with more love than this thankless world could ever give. I offered you paradise, yet you choose to fight your way through hell. Go ahead. Slay the monster and return to your brief life of hardship. Go on…finish it."

The paladin's blade tensed and began to tremble slightly. This was no longer the Countess he was talking to. This was the woman Lisa, scared, hurt and alone in the dark. All arrogance and menace had vanished from her countenance.

His mind raced, trying to remember why he needed to strike the killing blow. This creature was human, or at least had been once, but she was in league with demons, and she preyed upon the innocent. She had killed countless people over the centuries, or else turned them into undead abominations, among which were the very rogues of the sisterhood he had vowed to help. She deserved to die ten times over, yet Providence remained still. He could not bring himself to strike an enemy that offered no resistance, especially when she looked like no more than a scorned maiden.

Unbeknownst to Galen the Countess' blood had begun spreading into the puddles of demonic ichor all around and snaking its way into the corpses of the goatmen. Suddenly, it bubbled with unholy magics and the walls echoed with the sickening snap of tearing bodies as they coalesced into a mass of blood, bone and gore.

The paladin stared in horrified fascination at the sight, too sickened to react, and an emerging limb grasped his sword in a powerful grip. The Countess moved out of the way as the monstrosity finished forming and brought down its fist, all jutting bones and dripping flesh, crashing down upon Galen's head. The force of the blow staggered him as he felt blood pour down his temple, but he regained focus just in time to block its second attack with his free hand, his whole body tensing with the effort. He offered a silent prayer of gratitude to the light that infused his being with holy might.

The blood golem roared, its voice like the death rattle of a hundred animals in a slaughterhouse, and it used its grip on the sword to turn and slam the much lighter human into the adjacent wall. The impact rattled his bones, and before he could recover another claw swipe raked across his torso, carving long gashes into his armor. The brigandine's leather was torn in several places, and even some of the metal plates inside were bent or ripped away; thankfully, the gambeson beneath was relatively unscathed.

The creature followed up with another attack but Galen ducked beneath it and slashed the creature's abdomen, then reversed his swing and hacked down at the massive backhand coming his way. The golem's wrist was severed, yet it paid it no mind as it continued trying to swat at its diminutive foe, but the paladin was a blur of light, dancing among the creature's sluggish blows. His powerful swings cut deep into the undead flesh, and each time a chunk of it came apart.

The abomination suddenly stopped its futile assault and rushed bodily at the knight, using its wide frame to make it impossible to dodge. Galen was pushed back as he resisted the charge, his aura burning brighter, but the golem picked him up in its arms and began trying to crush him against itself. His armor could do little to prevent the constricting grip and he began to struggle for air, the creature's jutting bones digging into his chest. His arms still free, he reversed his grip on his sword and plunged it with desperate strength into the golem's skull, then twisted and began pulling the blade back towards himself, sawing through the whole head.

With a low groan the monstrosity began falling apart, large chunks of it splashing down wetly onto the ground, and Galen followed suit. Gasping for air, he took a moment to steady his breathing before standing back up amid the gory mess, his tired but fierce gaze on the Countess.

Nothing stood between him and her now as she lay on her knees, yet she smiled wickedly and raised a hand, a scarlet mist emanating from her fingertips. The mass of flesh and bone at his feet suddenly burst in a terrifyingly powerful explosion of gore that painted everything up to the ceiling in red. The paladin was sent flying several feet, bouncing off a wall.

Hanging desperately to consciousness, he tried to get up, but found his limbs would not answer him. Bits of bone had pierced his left arm and side, his ears rang and his head swam. His eyes focused just long enough to see the Countess crawling over to him. Further away behind her, another blood golem lumbered forward menacingly. His hand urgently sought the hilt of his sword but found nothing.

It was hopeless. He had failed, and his companions would pay the price. She was on him now, smiling hungrily.

The last thing Galen felt before sinking into sweet oblivion was her blood kiss on his neck.


	13. Chapter 13

The first thing Galen felt when he regained consciousness was a warm hand upon his cheek. The second was the sound of rain and the scent of wet earth.

His eyes fluttered open to see a feminine head hovering over him. Panic flickered in his mind as he recalled the Countess bending over him, but as his eyes focused, he recognized Dana's golden hair and blue-green eyes; they smiled tenderly at him, though a trace of worry lingered within. Beyond her, the Forgotten Tower's crumbling roof offered haphazard shelter from the downpour as the dark grey skies rumbled overhead. Regaining awareness of his body, he realized he was on his back as the amazon cradled his head in her lap.

\- "You're alright," came her voice. He wasn't sure if it was meant to reassure him or herself.

\- "Huh," he grunted. "I expected Heaven to be sunnier. At least the angels are pretty."

\- "You're not dead yet," she laughed, "despite your misplaced sense of chivalry. Akara's healing potions came in handy after all."

\- "What happened? Where are the others?"

\- "Everyone's fine. You're the one we've all been worried about."

\- "I'm sorry, Dana," he muttered. "That's twice now you've had to save me from my own failings. I should've…" he was interrupted by her hand on his mouth.

\- "Shush. It's not your fault. She fooled all of us. I should have seen through her game, but I was…distracted. Just promise me you won't be so gallant with Andariel," she finished with mock gravity.

\- "I'm afraid I can't make that promise," he retorted in the same tone. "I intend to personally escort her back to Hell."

\- "And yet you remain in the amazon's lap," Aan's voice called out snidely as he stepped into the paladin's view.

\- "I'm, uh, still feeling weak," Galen replied melodramatically. "And cold," he added for emphasis.

Dana giggled softly. He'd never heard her giggle.

\- "I'll allow it," she decided. "I was once in your care, after all. It's only fair."

His only answer was to stare peacefully up at her and bask in her comforting presence, but soon his expression turned serious.

\- "What of the missing rogues? Did you manage to save them as well?"

\- "We rescued those we could," Dana replied with a touch of sorrow in her voice. "But…" she hesitated as her eyes drifted up, "we weren't the ones to save you from the Countess' clutches."

Galen followed her gaze and lifted his head to see a stranger leaning against the far wall, arms crossed. He was a pale, grim looking man with closely shaved blond hair through which snaked black ritual markings. He wore a raven feather cloak over a black coat, beneath which there was a flash of lacquered dark leathers. His sunken eyes peeked up, sensing he was being stared at.

The paladin sat up, eyeing the stranger with a note of unease. There was something disquieting about the man, but more than that, there was something familiar about him too. Looking around, he saw his sword, shield and helm were neatly placed on top of each other to his side. Behind Aan, Paige huddled with four other rogues around a small campfire, all bundled up in cloaks, their expressions downcast. Talia was there too, feeding the fire with her magical flame, desperately trying to keep it alive; she offered him a smile, though her lips shivered from the cold.

He rose to his feet and walked over to them, kneeling beside Paige.

\- "I take it we were not in time to save everyone," he said softly.

She nodded, her gaze not meeting his.

\- "How many?" he asked.

\- "We lost two sisters," came the reply. "They had already been drained dry when we made it to the Countess' ritual chamber. We took our vengeance upon the vampiric underlings who guarded it, then burned all the bodies."

\- "I'm sorry. If we had arrived earlier…"

She raised a hand to interrupt him.

\- "No, you lot have already done more for the Sisterhood than we could have prayed for. We need to be stronger. _I_ need to be stronger."

He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and looked to the others.

\- "Are any of you hurt? I can provide healing."

\- "They didn't harm us more than they needed to," another rogue replied. "They wanted us unspoiled for their feast. Your friends arrived just in time to save me from that fate."

\- "It turns out vampires are very flammable," the young sorceress boasted before turning back to the campfire and poking at it miserably. "Unlike this soggy wood."

\- "The local weather not agreeing with you, witch?" came Aan's snickering voice. The barbarian only seemed invigorated by the cold.

\- "I'm sorry if my ancestors weren't crazy enough to settle in the frigid backside of Sanctuary," she retorted.

Galen left them to it and walked over to the man in black.

\- "I hear I have you to thank for my life," he said, offering his hand. "You have my gratitude, friend."

The pale stranger stared at the offered hand as if it were some exotic venomous creature. He made no move to grasp it.

\- "I suppose I should thank you as well," the stranger replied. "That blood mage was practically dead when I got there. You made my work much easier."

\- "I'm Galen," the paladin offered, his hand still outstretched.

There was a brief pause before the man in black stood straight and returned the gesture.

\- "Cyrus," he said with a brief handshake.

\- "Well met, Cyrus. You must be strong indeed for getting the best of the Countess and her pet abomination."

\- "That _abomination_ was what killed her and saved you," the stranger rejoined.

\- "What do you mean?" Galen asked, confused. "She summoned those things."

\- "The first blood golem was hers," Cyrus corrected, "the one you took down. The second one was mine."

\- "He is a corpse mage," came Talia's voice, and she spoke the words like a curse.

Realization flared in the paladin's eyes as Cyrus' appearance hit home. His mind was flooded with the memories of his previous encounter with a necromancer, flashes of skeletal monstrosities running amok in Kirkmoor, a mad light dancing in their puppet master's eyes.

His hand almost moved to his side by instinct, even though he was unarmed, but he controlled the impulse. Whatever else he might be, the man in front of him was not hostile.

\- "Ah, there it is," Cyrus noted, a faint smirk curling his lips. "I was wondering when the mask of civility would drop. Perhaps you wish to retract your gratitude now that you know that you owe it to a necromancer?"

Stung by the remark, Galen realized his expression betrayed his sudden animosity. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, his gaze was cool and casual.

\- "I apologize, Cyrus. I owe you a great debt, nothing can change that. I don't know what brought you to this place, but I am not one to spit on the hand of providence, no matter what shape it takes."

\- "What _did_ bring you here?" Dana asked as she came to stand by Galen's side.

\- "My business is my own," the necromancer commented cagily. "Suffice it to say that I learned of this Countess who defied the Balance, and decided to put an end to her."

\- "The Balance?"

\- "Yes, the great cycle of life and death. As a priest of Rathma, it is my duty to destroy any who seek to pervert it."

\- "And yet your kind desecrate the dead and raise them into unnatural life," the paladin countered testily. "You claim to defend the natural cycle, but you make a mockery of it."

\- "We may twist the line between life and death," Cyrus conceded, "but we do not break it. We only wield it as a weapon to better protect it against those that do, such as this Countess and her demonic patrons."

\- "How do you know she was in league with demons?" Galen asked suspiciously.

\- "Our brand of arcane magic is a closely guarded secret that we share with no one. The only way for any mortal not of our priesthood to wield it is to learn it from the infernal powers. That is why our order hunts down unsanctioned necromancers; they pose a threat to our very world. Now that the Countess is dead, this land is finally free of the evil that tainted it."

\- "I'm afraid she wasn't the source of this corruption," the amazon differed. "The demons in this land obey a much more perilous mistress: Andariel herself has taken over Eastgate and spread her influence far and wide. We were on our way there to put an end to her when we discovered this tower was a hideout for evil creatures. We should make haste to continue our mission; she guards the pass for her mast…" Dana felt the paladin's hand on her arm before she could continue, signaling her to stop. He did not trust the necromancer with the news of Diablo's freedom. The man in question seemed too taken aback to notice.

\- "The Maiden of Anguish?" Cyrus balked. "This is dire news indeed. One of the lesser evils is loose upon the land. This could mean that Hell's gaze is once again bent on Sanctuary." His eyes darted back and forth, lost in frantic thought. "My business will have to wait. I will come with you and help you defeat her."

\- "Out of the question," Galen cut in. "I'm grateful for your aid, but I cannot allow someone of your…persuasion to endanger our quest."

\- "You still question my allegiances?"

\- "It is not your heart I question, but your methods."

\- "This world belongs to us mortals, and it is rife with the energies of mortality; we would be fools not to make use of them. The enemy has no such compunction."

\- "You say you wield the arts of the enemy against him; all I see is a woodsman fighting a forest fire with a torch."

\- "I don't approve of the dark arts any more than you do, Galen," the amazon began, "but at the very least he has proven that he is no friend of the demons'. We could use all the allies we can get for the fight ahead."

\- "You surprise me, amazon" the necromancer chuckled. "You come to my defense, yet you were ready to skewer me when you first saw me standing over the unconscious form of your darling knight."

\- "Had you not dismissed your creature as a gesture of good faith, I might have." Dana replied dangerously. "Luckily, the dead noblewoman's fangs dispelled any doubts about her true identity. I believed you then, and I believe you now when you say you stand for Sanctuary. For the moment, that is enough."

\- "Most generous," Cyrus snarked. "But I don't need your permission. I'm going to Eastgate to destroy Andariel with or without you."

\- "You'd be walking into certain death," the paladin interjected. "None of us can take on the demon queen alone."

\- "Which is why we should stop arguing and band together," the amazon asserted. "We can discuss metaphysics once we've triumphed."

Galen seemed about to contend the point further but a shadow of guilt and shame crossed over his eyes when they met with Dana's. He sighed.

\- "You're right. We can't afford to tarry any longer. I've been out of it for most of the day, and we're pressed for time as it is." He turned to the necromancer. "Very well, Cyrus, you're welcome to join our party for the time being."

\- "Much obliged," the man in question returned flatly and walked away.

\- "Do you feel strong enough to continue our quest?" the amazon inquired, placing a hand on the paladin's arm.

\- "I will," he replied as the signature white light of his life aura began to shimmer around him. "What about the rogues? Perhaps we should send them back to camp. They've already suffered enough."

\- "They wouldn't have it," she replied. "This is their home; I cannot deny them the chance to fight for it." She turned to where the rogues in question were gathered. "Paige has been very brave," she mused, and Galen could sense pride in her tone. "She'll be a great champion of her people someday." The paladin smiled at the Askari's display of kinship towards one of her long-estranged sisters. Seeing this, she immediately returned to her business-like attitude and began mustering the others. "Time to move, everyone. Gather your things."

The young knight went to retrieve his gear as the others donned theirs. His allies seemed to have acquired some new equipment: Aan picked up a two-handed mace as big as his axe, its long steel head bristling with short blunt spikes meant more for bludgeoning than piercing. Dana put on an ornate gold tinted spangenhelm with cheek guards and a long red horsetail that sprouted from the top.

\- "I see you've helped yourself to some trinkets," he noted.

\- "The Countess had a lot of treasures amassed over the years," Dana confirmed.

\- "Including a great big pile of gold and gems," the barbarian chimed in with a toothy grin, giving his backpack a pat. "We won't be short on funds any time soon".

\- "Don't worry, we didn't forget about you," the amazon continued in a conspiratorial tone, and with that she produced a finely crafted leather cuirass from among her belongings. "That brigandine of yours has taken a beating, I thought maybe you'd want to replace it."

He smiled and accepted the gift gratefully.

\- "That's very thoughtful of you, Dana," he said while studying the armor before adding "But…I think I know someone who needs this more than I. Talia, come here a moment," he called out.

The sorceress walked over, still shivering in her light eastern robes.

\- "What is it?" she asked.

\- "I want you to try this on. It'll keep you a bit warmer, and more importantly, a lot safer. I won't have you traipsing into battle with no protection."

\- "We Zann-Esu rely on magics and enchantments to protect ourselves," she protested. "We don't wear mundane, cumbersome armor."

\- "You do if you're going up against one of the Lesser Evils," he insisted. "Just try it on. For me."

\- "Very well," she sighed and began to clumsily put on the cuirass. Galen was amazed she even knew which side was forward. When she was done, she squirmed uncomfortably, evidencing her displeasure. "It's heavy. And it chafes," she whined.

\- "It chafes much less than a sword through the gut, I assure you," he quipped. "You've stopped shivering, at least."

Talia realized she felt warmer than she did a minute ago, and any further protests died on her lips. A begrudging smile peeked at the corner of her pout.

\- "I'll keep it on until I find myself in warmer weather," she conceded.

\- "I was about to give you some gold from the hoard," the amazon told the paladin, "but since you seem so keen on giving away my gifts, perhaps I'll hold on to it."

\- "You're welcome to it," he said but then hesitated, turning to the necromancer who paced behind him. "Unless…our new friend would like his fair share of the spoils?"

\- "I have already claimed my prize," Cyrus responded, and he tapped a vial of red liquid on his belt.

\- "Is that…" Galen began.

\- "The Countess's blood, yes. It holds power, power that allowed her to cheat death for countless years. She pierced the secrets of manipulating lifeforce in ways only the most ancient of my cult's mysteries can match. I can use this trophy as a catalyst for my spells."

\- "That blood drew its power from the lives of the innocent," the young Zann-Esu interrupted angrily.

\- "And not using it would mean those lives would go to waste," the necromancer retorted. "We can't afford such sentimentality on the battlefield."

\- "Why are we allowing this corpsemonger to join us?" she demanded. "His magic is repulsive."

\- "I agree," Aan interpolated. "Magic is repulsive. We should the leave the witches. Both of 'em."

\- "We do not always choose our allies in war, northman," the amazon replied.

\- "The savage has a point, sorceress," Cyrus noted. "What makes my magic more contemptible than yours?"

\- "The founders of my sisterhood turned their backs on the unpredictable and unscrupulous magics of the other mage clans," she replied. "We do not distort the natural order, or invade the minds and bodies of others, or bend demons to our will…or raise the dead to do our bidding. We wield the purest form of magic, the fundamental elements of Sanctuary itself, as a sword against its enemies."

\- "All power is a sword," he countered, "and a sword is neither good or evil. It is simply a tool. It is how you wield it that defines who you are, and my purpose is no different than yours."

\- "Enough," the paladin stepped in. "Dana is right, there will be time for words once our quest is complete. Right now, we must let our actions speak."

Silence reigned for a small moment as the rogues awkwardly made their way over, sensing the tension among their saviors.

The amazon took the initiative and led the way out of the tower under the pouring rain. One by one, the others followed, forming a marching line that ploughed its way through the muddy road that led east.

It was a miserable journey, and for the hundredth time in a decade Dana wondered what had possessed her to leave her island paradise for grimmer climes. She always had an answer, of course, yet this time it was not the same one. Her lodestar was gone, but in its place was a new purpose, and that kept her moving forward.

The downpour eventually turned into a light shower, which raised morale somewhat, but a fog began to form that made it harder for her to detect any potential threats. Still, they marched on, confident in their martial might and the importance of their task.

The hour grew late and the sky grew even darker. It was becoming harder to see as the Rakkisroad became a narrow mountain pass that led upwards, but the amazon and the rogues' keen eyes guided the party forward. Nothing barred their way as they entered the Tamoe Highlands that led to the monastery; no demon, dark rogue or corrupted creature was in sight. It seemed as if the shadow of death itself had fallen on the land and nothing dared disturb it save the monotone drumming of the rain.

The mist grew thinner the further up they went, and in the dying twilight that smeared the grey skies, they spotted a dark shape looming menacingly in the far distance; there Eastgate stood in darkness, black as the night that fell over the world. 


	14. Chapter 14

Grishok the Craven grumbled under his breath as his shaman barked at him to keep up the pace.

He hated this cold wet land he had been summoned to. He hated the dark rogues who gave him and his kind sneering looks whenever they crossed paths. He hated being stuck on guard duty outside the mistress's walls while others got to play with the captives.

Things had been so much better a few days prior, when he and the rest of the glorious fallen army still held sway over the lush lowlands where they had been camped. There was always a homestead to burn there, a farm to raze, or some humans to poke holes in.

But then the three had appeared.

Grishok remembered them well: the horned giant, the hissing death, and the burning man. They had come upon his army's camp in the night and tore through it, killing shadow priest Bishibosh and Rakanishu the Stormcrazed. He had never come across humans of such power. Grishok was no fool. Grishok had run. Now the fallen at the mistress's side mocked him, calling him a coward.

He sometimes wondered if the three hadn't been the Three in disguise, come to test them: horned terror, hissing hatred, and burning destruction. But why would the mistress pull back all her forces to defend her lair if this was simply a test?

He was jolted out of his thoughts when something flashed in the corner of his eye, and he stopped in his tracks, squinting at the point where he thought it came from. Imps had little trouble seeing in the dark, but the fog made it difficult to spot anything.

A moment passed before another barked order pulled his attention back to his patrol. He hurried to catch up, all while imagining ways to horribly main and kill his shaman: gut him and strangle him with his own innards? Pour burning charcoal down his gullet while he sleeps? Or better yet, feed him to the mistress's pet spiders…

As he was wishing all manner of painful demise upon his leader, something hissed and the shaman in question dropped dead on the ground.

For one brief instant, Grishok was filled with a glorious, inebriating sense of power; had he just conjured death with his mind?

More hissing sounds and the others began to fall as well, arrows sticking out of their corpses.

The patrol scrambled, trying to find the source of the attack, but all any of them saw was a blur before it was too late. A few fools charged into the mist, waving their curved blades around; he heard the sound of twanging bows and falling bodies, then nothing.

Grishok was no fool. Grishok ran. 

* * *

With the last of the fallen patrol scattering, Dana gave the signal to move forward.

For the past hour she and the rogues had stalked the misty highlands like apex predators, hunting silently and unseen. Corrupted rogues and demons alike fell to their arrows without ever knowing what befell them. The party followed at a distance but remained out of the fray, allowing them to carry out their deadly work. Now they were at the monastery's gates, and no more patrols stood in their way.

The grounds around the entrance seemed almost welcoming, dim magical torches flickering gently in the night, their enchantments untouched by the surrounding evil. Paige walked up to the great doors that were currently closed, followed closely by the other rogues. There was something religious about their manner.

\- "Home," she said matter-of-factly, but there was an underlying tone of longing and reverence. She turned to her sisters. "It's finally time to take it back."

Their only answer was to nod grimly. Dana moved to stand beside Paige, staring up at the enormous structure before locking eyes with her.

\- "We're with you, come what may."

\- "Thank you," the smaller woman responded, holding the Askari's gaze, and the torches' enchanted light glimmered warmly in her eyes.

\- "Shall I knock?" Aan proposed while tapping the head of his new great mace on his palm.

\- "We have the element of surprise," Dana remarked. "Maybe we should maintain it."

\- "I doubt that will last long once we barge through those doors," the necromancer countered, "but I'll follow the amazon's lead. I can blend into the shadows when I need to."

\- "Prepare yourselves, then," Galen prompted, "there may be an army waiting for us within."

With that, he gave the northman a nod and they both pushed at the massive gates. They opened with surprising ease and the party rushed in, steel and spell at the ready.

Inside the entrance a lone quill rat squeaked in surprise, then growled threateningly. It arched its back, preparing to shoot its razor-like spines at the intruders, but was immediately silenced by an arrow from Paige.

The band walked in to the echoing sound of their own footsteps. The place was unnervingly dark and silent.

\- "Well, this is a much quieter welcome than I expected," the amazon announced. "Not sure if that's a good sign or a bad one."

\- "Maybe the demon bitch's forces are spent?" Paige offered hopefully.

\- "Optimism is the fool's liquor," Cyrus sneered. "It soothes, but dulls the senses."

\- "What our jovial friend here means to say is we shouldn't let our guard down," the paladin explained.

\- "There's a good chance the enemy is waiting in ambush," Dana confirmed.

\- "Then let's not keep them waiting," the barbarian announced, sauntering casually forward with his weapon on his shoulder. "That would be rude."

_Their courage is truly contagious_, Paige thought, and followed suit with the others in tow.

Moving inside, they found the entire outer cloister of the monastery abandoned, with the exception of the occasional quill rat that served as target practice. Walking about the moonlit gardens was a strange experience, as though they were lovers out on a pleasant stroll instead of warriors in mortal danger.

Eventually, they made it to another set of big doors that barred their way.

\- "This is the gate that leads to the inner cloister," Paige spoke up. "Inside lies another dormant waypoint. If you can activate it as you have the others, Kashya stands ready to step through with reinforcements."

Aan walked up to the doors and pulled, but they remained shut. He then tried kicking them open, but they wouldn't budge. Grunting with frustration, he lifted his mace high and was about to smash the gate in when Galen caught his arm.

\- "Wait. It's no use. Akara told me she had placed an enchantment on this door to allow her and the other rogues to flee the monastery when Andariel took over. We don't have time to try to breach it when the demons haven't managed it in all this time. They must have found another way. Paige?"

\- "The barracks," the young rogue declared. "We can access the jail from there, which connects to the inner cloister. But the way will be heavily guarded; the dark rogue forces are likely to reside there."

The paladin sighed heavily before speaking up.

\- "It can't be helped. We have to deal with your fallen sisters sooner or later."

Paige nodded and led the way to a long side corridor that opened onto another courtyard, this one packed with archery targets and training dummies. It felt so familiar, and for a moment she could almost imagine that none of the woes that had befallen her order had ever happened, and this was simply another night patrolling her home.

That was until she saw that some of the training dummies weren't dummies at all: rotting corpses that she could clearly identify as once belonging to some of her sisters were tied up on poles or nailed upon targets, countless cuts and arrows adorning their desiccated flesh.

She stopped, and a tremor made its way through her lithe frame. The other rogues also stopped, staring in horror at the desecrated remains of their kin. Dana placed her hand on Paige's shoulder; she could feel her shaking.

\- "We will make sure to offer them a proper burial once we've cleared Eastgate of foes," the amazon murmured gently. "For now, have courage." The rogue made no answer as tears pearled at the corner of her eyes and her jaw clenched, and Dana realized it was not grief or despair that shook her body, but raw, barely contained fury. The loss, pain and rage that were written on her features were all too familiar to the amazon. "Paige," she insisted, and turned the rogue around by the arm to look at her face to face, "I need you to stay focused."

An unspoken understanding passed between the two women; Paige's breathing calmed, and her features softened into stern determination. She gave a soft nod and moved to the barracks' gates. Testing them, she found they were unlocked.

\- "Weapons at the ready," she intimated.

With that, she pushed the doors open and stepped through. Only darkness greeted her as the others came behind. Darkness and silence. No candles flickered on the shadowy walls, and no sound echoed off of them. The place looked abandoned.

\- "I was expecting a welcoming party," the barbarian mumbled dejectedly.

\- "Rogues don't fight in the open. You may yet get your wish," Paige responded.

\- "You think they're lying in wait for us?" Dana piped up.

\- "That's what I'd do," came the answer.

Though nothing barred their way, the party inched forward, senses on high alert. They met no one as they cleared the foyer, and no one was there when they entered the dormitory, though in the dark Talia's mind conjured dark rogues hiding beneath the sheets, ready to pounce. She gave one of the beds a good poke with her staff just to be sure. Satisfied with the soft give of straw-filled mattress, she hurried up after the others as they reached another hallway. The oppressive silence and sense of dread did not abate, yet still no flash of naked blade or hiss of bowstring disturbed it. Only their cautious footfalls.

Soon, the hallway opened on a large space with long benches and tables, as deserted as the rest of the building. No fire glowed in this dining hall's central hearth, and what little visibility there was came from the dim moonlight that filtered through the high windows on the walls of the upper gallery. The band quietly made their way through the maze of large tables, carefully stepping over the mess of discarded plates and silverware so as not to make a din. They had reached the middle of the room when a voice rang out in the dark.

\- "Welcome, sisters! We were waiting for you..." All at once corrupted rogues appeared across the entire upper gallery, bows drawn and pointed at the intruders who now stood surrounded, back to back. A tall figure stepped forward from among the archers, clearly their captain.

\- "Isolde?" Paige piped up incredulously, a ripple of recognition on her face.

\- "Paige!" the dark captain exclaimed with a crazed joviality. "How nice of you to bring guests. Won't you stay for dinner? I'm sure the mistress would relish some fresh meat."

\- "She wouldn't get much out of this bunch, they're all skin and bones," Aan demurred.

\- "I'm afraid I must insist," Isolde replied dangerously. "Lay down your arms and things will go much easier on you. The mistress likes them live and squirming."

Paige heard Galen whisper something to his companions and she spoke up to cover his voice.

\- "What happened to you, Isolde? You were a faithful sister of the Sightless Eye. How did you fall so low?"

\- "Why tell you when I can show you?" came the hungry reply. "Come peacefully and I will personally twist you into one of us. It will be painful at first, but once you unshackle yourself from you own sanity, you will grow to love it."

Paige was about to retort when the paladin's whispering voice floated to her ears.

\- "Cover your eyes!"

The dark room suddenly burst with light as his silver aura, along with Dana's spearhead and the tip of the sorceress' staff, flared to life with a fierce glow. The flash blinded the dark rogues as Galen raised his shield and charged towards the exit, knocking furniture aside to open a path.

\- "Behind me!" he cried as the barbarian rushed to pick up one of the thick oak tables and lifted it to cover their retreat.

\- "Shoot them!" Isolde bellowed, and, their eyes still burning, her minions loosed haphazardly, showering the group in a hail of arrows from every side. The ones from the back slammed into the northman's makeshift barrier and Galen did his best to shield his allies from the front, but some arrows from the sides found their mark: one rogue caught two in the shoulder; another dropped her bow as her arm was pierced, as was Aan's elbow, though he kept the table held firmly aloft; Dana was hobbled by a shaft through the thigh; the other missiles' impacts were neutralized by the aura or blunted by armor, and Talia made a mental note to always listen to the paladin as her leather cuirass was pin-cushioned by several arrows.

Paige stopped to help the limping amazon as the group pushed through to the door before another volley was sent their way. Last through the door was the barbarian, who pivoted the table he was carrying vertically so as to block the entire exit.

\- "Go!" he roared, "I'll hold them off!"

\- "No need for such heroics, northman," Cyrus berated as he stepped forth and placed his hands on the ground, a droning incantation pouring from his lips. The hum of his voice seemed to resonate within the earth, and it began to rumble slightly as it slowly pushed out a thick wall of bone right between Aan and his table. The barbarian stepped away as the very bones of the earth rose to completely block any chance of pursuit.

\- "That…was both creepy and amazing," he laughed and clapped the necromancer on the back, which almost sent the smaller man tumbling.

\- "You're wounded," Galen said as he walked up to Dana and took her from Paige's arms, laying her down against a wall.

\- "I'll be alright, tend to the others first," the amazon protested.

\- "A major artery could be hit," the paladin insisted as he inspected the wound.

\- "Sweet stubborn boy," she sighed resignedly.

\- "Stubborn selfless woman," he retorted with a smile and placed his hand on the shaft to remove it before looking at her expectantly.

\- "Well, this looks familiar," she mused.

\- "We've got to stop meeting like this," he quipped.

\- "Oh no, I enjoy having handsome young men at my feet," she replied slyly.

The only response he offered was a timid smile.

\- "Um…the arrow?" She reminded him

\- "Oh right," he stammered. "Sorry."

And with that, he removed the shaft and healed her wound, then moved on to the other wounded. Last was Aan, who began speaking conspiratorially as the paladin poured healing light to mend his elbow.

\- "You know we might all be dead soon. I've seen the way you look at her. Tell her. Young lad like you going to his ancestors before even knowing a woman's touch…it'd be a shame."

Galen stared dumbfoundedly at the barbarian, trying to muster a verbal defense, but coming up short. He finally decided the best strategy was a diversionary attack.

\- "Since we're all likely about to die, maybe you should tell us your real name. Just so I can put in a good word for you with the angels."

\- "You have not yet earned the right to know it," the northman retorted wryly, before his expression turned serious. "And I have not yet earned the right to wear it."

\- "We should get going," the necromancer interrupted loudly. "That barrier of bone won't hold forever."

\- "We're almost there. Follow me," Paige intimated as she led the way once again with the others in tow, and after exchanging a nod the paladin and barbarian brought up the rear.

As they walked, a faraway clanging sound seemed to add another beat to their footsteps. 


	15. Chapter 15

As the party trudged through another hallway, a distant rhythmic sound drifted to their ears, growing louder the further they went. It was the sound of metal beating on metal, and as they neared another doorway it grew almost deafening.

**CLANG  
**  
The room beyond shone menacingly with a dull orange glow, and Dana exchanged a glance with Paige, though neither said anything as the thunderous clanging drowned out all other sounds.

**CLANG  
**  
Galen signaled to the rogues and spellcasters to stay in the back as he, the amazon and Aan entered the room.

**CLANG  
**  
It took a moment for their eyes to adjust to the glow that illuminated the armory. Rows upon rows of sharp, jagged weapons lined the walls, and strips of rough but solid armor were strewn about here and there. Dark rogues barked orders at scampering fallen that fed the burning maw of the forge, while others poured molten iron or fletched arrows. In the back, a mammoth arm rose and fell rhythmically as its hulking owner hammered away on an anvil.

**CLANG**

One of the fallen noticed the intruders and started screeching madly. The dark rogues reacted instantly, scrambling for weapons, but the party's backline was already loosing shafts and slinging spells at them. Some fell while others began to retaliate with missiles of their own as the fallen rushed forward with the first sharp bit of metal they could grab.

**CLANG  
**  
One imp picked up a spear that was much too large for him and ended tripping himself and two of his devilish kin. They quickly fell to Talia's magical onslaught as Galen, Aan and Dana moved to intercept the others.

**CLANG  
**  
Cyrus muttered a blinding curse at the dark archers and their eyes turned glassy as their shots went wide. Paige and her sisters used the opening to dispose of one after the other. The fallen who managed to make it to the trio in the front quickly realized they were hopelessly outmatched and scrambled in a panic before being picked off by more spells from Talia.

Only a few of the demonic forces remained when the young sorceress realized the deafening metallic beat had stopped. The hunched figure at the back of the room stood upright, its dark silhouette growing even bigger against the glow of the forge as it discarded its hammer. A chill ran down her spine as the thing turned slowly to face her and she finally got a good look at it.

It had horns protruding from its head and tusks from its lower jaw, its thick hide was the same color as the furnace, and it wore only a dirty blacksmith apron and heavy gauntlets that glimmered in the forge light yet seemed to burn with a fire of their own.

A rumble like distant thunder shook the air before she realized it was a **growl**. The growl turned into a voice, and the voice into gruff but intelligible speech.

\- "I told the mistress she was wasting her time with her corrupted toys. Broken tools are useless. She should have let me use them for parts. But no matter. I have finer materials at hand now. I will make weapons from your BONES!"

With that the demonic blacksmith bore down on them, moving at frightening speed despite his massive bulk of thick muscle that dwarfed even the northman's. The latter rushed to meet the new threat head-on as Paige and the other rogues took aim and shot, yet their arrows seemed little more than pinpricks in the monstrous frame; the smith wasn't even slowed down as he barreled into the barbarian, and the impact of the two goliaths shook the air.

For the first time in his adult life, Aan felt utterly overpowered as the bull-rushing demon knocked him aside with the force of a battering ram and kept charging towards the archers who were unleashing another volley. The smith shrugged off the arrows just like before, as well as a massive fireball from Talia which would have blasted a lesser creature off its feet yet didn't even singe the greater demon.

The juggernaut emerged from the fiery explosion only to be hamstrung by Dana's spear, finally stumbling to a halt with a grunt of pain.

Before the amazon could disengage, his massive gauntleted hand reached out snake-fast to grab her head, and began squeezing. She screamed as her newly acquired spangenhelm turned red hot and a tremendous force began collapsing it upon her skull. But all at once, the pressure that threatened to crush her head disappeared and she was dropped unceremoniously to the floor as the smith roared in pain.

Paige had pierced one of his eyes with a perfect shot, and now his one good eye turned to her with blistering hatred. The entire room shook with the demon's roar and all had to cover their ears as he launched himself at the young rogue; neither the spectral bone spear summoned by Cyrus nor the blast of lightning called forth by the sorceress did anything more than aggravate the behemoth's fury as he sent the necromancer flying with a backhand and finally reached his target.

He raised both massive fists to smash the sneaky vermin that had taken his eye, and all Paige could think of was how disappointed she was she would not be able to stand as Dana's battle sister in the fight against Andariel.

But Galen was suddenly there, pushing her out of the way, his shield raised to meet the blow. A flash of flame and a crack like thunder echoed against the walls of the armory; the shield was splintered by the demon's terrible strength and the impact sent the paladin to his knees, his left arm hanging limply by his side.

The smith raised his fist again for a coup de grace, but despite the pain he was in, Galen stabbed Providence upwards with his one hand, piercing the demonic arm above the elbow with its own momentum before it could achieve its deadly arc.

Growing ever more incensed, his teeth gnashing with pain and mounting frustration, the smith bellowed his rage and delivered a powerful frontal kick to send the paladin sprawling several meters away into one of the rogues, the wind knocked out of him.

The demon focused his deadly gaze back on Paige as she backpedaled away, but when he tried to move towards her, he found his feet were being encased in a thick layer of frost, pinning them to the ground.

Following the ice back to its source he saw the sorceress using her staff to spread cold magics along the floor. She poured more and more mana into her spell but the smith simply bent down and tore at the ice with his red-hot gauntlets; to Talia's horror the ice broke and melted in an instant, and in another he was upon her.

One of the rogues dove at the demon in a desperate strike with her falchion, but he grabbed her in one hand, her leather armor sizzling under the touch, and brought the other smashing down upon her head. Her skull caved in a shower of blood and gore that splashed against the young sorceress, who stood frozen in fear, quivering like a fawn before a lion. Talia was distantly aware of someone screaming, she thought it might have been Paige, but everything felt distant to her, as though she were removed from her own body, and she did not stir as the demon reached for her face.

The smith's hand never reached her as a large figure flew through the air and brought down its axe in a massive overhand chop that bit deep into the demonic forearm.

\- "Snap out of it, witch!" the figure bellowed at her and she regained enough focus to recognize the barbarian.

The smith turned on the interloper and delivered a devastating punch to Aan's face; the northman quickly recovered and offered his foe a vicious, blood-smeared smile before pulling out his mace with his left hand, dual wielding two great weapons a regular man could barely lift. The demon roared in challenge and the barbarian answered in kind; the sound of his voice brought the sorceress back to reality in time to witness the two throw themselves at each other, hammering away in a berserker frenzy of steel and blood.

Her companion's war cry summoned a surge of courage and fury in her she had never felt before, and she hurriedly gathered her mana to come to his aid as she witnessed him losing the war of attrition against the demon. A savage blow sent the northman's helmet flying, but before the smith could follow up on his advantage, he felt a delicate palm against his back, and his vision turned white as a blinding field of static shot through him.

\- "Aan! Strike!" Talia shouted with incandescent eyes as she used her entire body as a conduit for her shock magics.

The barbarian hesitated for barely an instant as he watched his adversary convulse, lightning dancing along every inch of his skin. Dodging a wild swing from the flailing arms, he delivered a precise, crushing blow with his mace to the demon's right knee, just below the wound Dana had inflicted.

The smith's massive frame crumpled to the floor with a sickening crack. He raised his gauntleted hand to shield himself but Aan embedded his axe into where Galen had pierced the elbow and the arm went limp.

The demon's other hand shot forward with desperate speed to grab the northman by the throat, scorching his skin and attempting to crush his windpipe, but Aan was already smashing his mace down with both hands. Another sickening crack, and the smith's grip loosened. Then another. And another.

The final mace strike collapsed the greater demon's skull completely, and his hand fell, followed by the rest of his body.

Breathing heavily as his battle lust abated, the barbarian walked over to the sorceress, who simply stood there, shaken, staring at the fallen monster at her feet. He placed his bear paw on her lithe shoulder. She looked up at him, the embers of her magical fury still glowing dimly in her eyes.

\- "You did good, wi…Talia," he decided. "You did good."

She tried to summon a smile but found herself unable to. Her face was still smeared with the blood of the rogue. She turned to where the latter's body lay, only to see Galen and Paige were already kneeling there, faces grim. Everyone gathered around the dead rogue, and all could see she was beyond healing.

\- "She's gone," the paladin whispered.

A moment passed before Paige removed her cloak and used it to cover her fallen sister. Galen rose to his feet and looked up the bruised and bloodied barbarian and the amazon with her singed head.

\- "At least I can do something about you two."

Both welcomed the paladin's healing touch gratefully, and while Galen placed his radiant hands at Dana's temples, Aan hunched over the smith's corpse and began removing the gauntlets, careful not to burn his hands; to his surprise they were cool to the touch.

These were clearly the work of a master, forged in some unknown enchanted metal that glowed with a hidden fire, each with a blazing ruby encrusted into the back of the palm. Trying them on, the northman dejectedly found they were somewhat too large, but the metal suddenly came to life, shifting as though it were molten steel to fit his hands and forearms perfectly.

A rush of power surged through him, and he felt like he could shatter Mount Arreat with his fists. A fierce heat emanated from the gauntlets, yet it felt like no more than a summer wind to him. Relishing in his newfound acquisitions, he slammed his fists together and looked at the others with a cocksure grin. He was met by Paige's sorrowful eyes. Her friend's blood was still on the gauntlets.

\- "Your kill, your trophy," she said, and walked over to the anvil at the back of the room.

Feeling chastened, the barbarian followed her to offer some words of consolation, yet before he could find them, she spoke up again.

\- "I want you to do something for me," she said as she grabbed the hammer that rested on the anvil and turned to him. It was unlike any he had ever seen, seeming more like a powerful ancient relic than a workman's tool. "If I don't make it, I want you to give this to Charsi. It belongs to her," she finished as she handed him the hammer.

Still not finding the words, he nodded solemnly, inwardly promising himself that no harm would come to the young rogue under his watch. Her eyes suddenly shot wide with vengeful outrage and Aan lost his composure, wondering what he had done to upset her, but she stormed past him before he could ask her.

He watched her march up to Cyrus, who was muttering in his creepy language again, surrounded by spectral energy that crawled its way like mist to the corpses of the corrupted rogues. Their skin was beginning to dissolve, bone freeing itself form the grasp of flesh as their skeletons were reanimated with necrotic magics.

Paige knocked an arrow and aimed it point blank at the necromancer's head.

\- "Stop what you're doing right now." Her voice was low and menacing.

He turned to her with a confused, yet condescending look.

\- "What's gotten into you, rogue?"

\- "I SAID STOP!" she screamed and drew her bowstring even harder, pressing the tip of her arrow into his temple.

Visibly irritated, Cyrus nonetheless dispelled his incantation and the corpses fell back into the stillness of death.

\- "Stealth is no longer a concern," he explained with a sigh. "I'm merely summoning undead minions to aid us. Don't tell me you too have some philosophical objection to my arts. I would've imagined your kind to be more practical than that."

\- "Corrupted though they may be, these rogues were once my sisters. They will be buried in their ancestral home where they will finally be at peace. I will put a shaft into you if you try to desecrate their bodies and hold their spirits hostage again. Am I clear?"

The necromancer studied her coldly, but seeing the steel in her eyes decided to not push the matter any further.

\- "Very well," he yielded. "I will have to content myself with one powerful minion instead. I trust your qualms do not extend to demons?"

He took her silence as consent and walked over to the smith's corpse.

Taking out the vial that contained the blood he had collected from the Countess, he poured some of its contents on his dagger, then cut his own palm with the blade. He let the blood drip onto the greater demon's inert corpse as his voice droned in eldritch syllables.

Aan gripped his axe when the smith stirred and rose to its feet, but he relaxed when it simply stood there before its new master, awaiting his commands.

\- "Would it be petty of me if I dispelled that thing with holy fire?" Galen whispered to Dana.

\- "Yes," she replied. "It would."

Paige was already leading the other rogues to an archway on the eastern side of the room. The racks there held no weapons or armor, but iron collars, cuffs, chains, and a variety of wicked implements of torture, many looking freshly forged. Beyond the arch, a stairway plunged downwards into darkness.

\- "This is it," Paige called out to Dana as the latter joined her. "We can access the jails through here, and from there reach the inner cloister."

The two battle sisters led the way along with the paladin as the others filed in one by one.

Talia sighed at the thought of another underground trek; she knew it would not be the last. She felt a gentle nudge to her side and turned to see the northman offering her a knowing smirk. He signaled with his head to follow him and walked in front. She smiled and gratefully took her place behind him, shadowing his footsteps.


	16. Chapter 16

The jail was a dark place. Not simply for lack of light, but due to an oppressive sense of dread that hung in the air. They could all feel it like a rotten breath at the back of their necks, like the whisper of madness at the edge of their hearing.

The crushing silence was only broken by anguished screams and the occasional rattling of chains. They moved swiftly along the dim corridors, heedless of stealth. The enemy knew they were there, and if they didn't the light from Galen's aura, Dana's spear and Talia's staff would soon advertise their presence.

Paige flinched every time she heard a scream, and the amazon could feel her getting more and more agitated. She understood all too well the young rogue's burning desire to rush to the deliverance of her imprisoned sisters, but time was against them and they could not afford to clear the entire dungeon of foes. They had to hurry to activate the inner cloister waypoint so they could bring in the rest of the rogue forces, who would liberate the monastery while they dealt with Andariel.

\- "Steady, battle sister," Dana said when Paige flinched at another scream. She managed to sound both firm and gentle.

\- "I follow your lead, my captain," the rogue said as she took a deep breath.

The amazon smiled at the honorific. She hadn't been addressed as anything more than a mercenary since she'd left the home isles.

Another scream suddenly echoed through the hallway, but this one was not human. Ahead of them, a band of fallen screeched to life as they spotted the intruders, but they were swiftly silenced by the archers in the party. The commotion drew more enemies, however, and soon packs of goatmen charged in from both the front and the back, their skin black as night, barely distinguishable in the darkness.

Talia was ready. She greeted the ones to the back with a chain lightning spell that carved a deadly arc among them. The ones left untouched received a fireball to the face for their trouble, the explosion making a hole in their ranks. The ones that made it through both magical onslaughts slammed into the twin walls of Aan and the reanimated smith, neither of which budged an inch as they felled foe after foe.

The goatmen to the front were having even less luck, and before long the deathly quiet reasserted itself as the last of them fell.

\- "Move!" the paladin intimated. "We can't get bogged down here."

Picking up the pace, the party marched briskly though the winding hallways, dispatching what scattered resistance they met. Fallen patrols, dark rogue jailors and goatman guards barely slowed them down.

They were within sight of the stairway leading back up when a scream tore through the air. It came from nearby. Paige turned to Dana, her eyes pleading. The amazon simply nodded.

The door to the room where the screams were coming from flew open as the barbarian charged through and kept going, the others rushing in behind. Two dark rogues within dropped their implements in surprise and scrambled to retrieve their weapons. They never made it.

The place was clearly a torture room. Racks, iron maidens and other monstrous devices abounded, bearing the marks of blood and gore. In one corner, a pile of rotting corpses spread a putrid miasma that threatened to make everyone lose their meals. Cyrus and his pet guarded the door while the others approached one of the racks in the far end of the room, which still held an occupant.

A mewling groan escaped said occupant's lips, and as they came closer, they were horrified at the sight before their eyes.

The woman on the torture rack was one giant naked wound: her skin had been flayed in places; her feet had been burned; some of her nails had been ripped out; some fingers were broken, others missing entirely; her torso was a mosaic of cuts, her face a kaleidoscope of bruises; One of her eye sockets was smashed in, and some of her teeth were missing.

Talia turned away and vomited where she stood, unable to bear the sight. Paige reached a trembling hand to touch the prisoner.

\- "Johanna?" she asked of the woman, and the latter turned her good eye to look at the source of the voice calling her name.

\- "Paige," she answered in a hoarse whisper.

The young rogue grabbed her elder's hand as gently as she could, tears pearling at the corner of her eyes.

\- "What have they done to you?" she cried.

Galen shook off the horror that gripped his heart and forced himself to stir to action. He stood on the opposite side and placed his hands on the worst wounds, suffusing them with healing light. Johanna grunted in excruciating pain, her voice dulled by sheer exhaustion.

\- "No!" she pleaded. "Please, stop…don't try to heal me. I don't want it…Please."

The paladin stopped his ministrations in confusion, looking to Paige for guidance. The young rogue moved closer to her elder, speaking softly.

\- "Johanna, he is a powerful healer, he can save you."

\- "No!" Johanna croaked. "I don't want…to be saved. What they did to me…to the others… it's too late…too late for me…I just want it to end. Please, Paige…sister. Give me…release."

Paige's eyes went wide, realizing what her elder was asking of her. The tears were now streaming freely down her face. She lowered her head, and a tremor went through her body. She pulled out her dagger.

\- "Paige, wait!" Galen cried as he reached for the young rogue. "I can heal her! Just give me time, I can…"

He was seized by the shoulders and pinned against the nearby wall before he could finish.

Dana's calm but melancholy eyes stared sadly at him. She shook her head. Slowly, he dropped his gaze, anger and shame warring over his features. He slammed the back of his fist into the wall. Feeling the tension escape his shoulders, the amazon released them.

Paige held her dagger in a trembling hand, but could not bring herself to do the deed.

\- "Please, sister," Johanna urged her on in her labored voice. "Release me…from this agony. Let me go to our foremothers…knowing the fiends could not break me."

The young rogue grit her teeth and placed the tip of her dagger at her elder's heart.

\- "Thank you," whispered Johanna, and she closed her eyes, her contorted features relaxing into a semblance of peace.

With a wailing cry Paige pushed down with all her strength. A sharp gasp escaped Johanna's lips, then a soft sigh, then nothing. The young rogue remained there unmoving, white knuckles contracted around the pommel of her dagger.

She did not stir until she felt Dana's hands on her own, gently prompting her to let go. She turned and buried herself in the amazon's chest, who held her firmly as sobs racked her body. For the next few minutes, her cries were the only sound that could be heard in the underground prison. 

* * *

The party emerged into the inner cloister on a warpath, their pace reckless and unconcerned with the possibility of ambush. They spread out with the efficiency of trained soldiers to secure the courtyard while Dana led Paige to the dormant waypoint at the center. She grabbed the younger woman's hands, still stained in Johanna's blood, in her own.  
\- "Paige, you honored your sister's last wish. Now honor her death. Blood opens the way; let her sacrifice be the key to the liberation of your home."

Though still shaken, Paige steadied her crimson hands and placed them upon the stone surface of the waypoint. The arcane sigils flared to life, pulsing blue as the air around them shifted. The young rogue closed her eyes and pictured her people's encampment.

When she opened them again, she was kneeling before Kashya, who stood battle ready with most of the sisterhood's remaining forces at her back.

\- "It's about time!" The redhead announced eagerly, helping her subordinate to her feet. "I was beginning to worry something had happened to you. Well done, Paige. Are you strong enough to continue the fight?"

\- "Yes, captain," the younger rogue declared, and the fire in her eyes convinced her superior she meant it.

Kashya turned to face her troops.

\- "Sisters! For the past weeks we have been refugees, driven from our home in the dead of night. Our friends were butchered in their sleep as demons stalked the walls we grew up in. But tonight, it is **we** who are the hunters, **we** who are the fangs in the dark, and I swear by the Sightless Eye that, by dawn, Eastgate will be ours again!"

A cheer erupted as ranks upon ranks of rogues lifted bows, fists and torches to the sky, as if to defy the night.

The two rogues who flanked Kashya joined her and Paige upon the stone of the waypoint, and their hearts burned to see their home again as the familiar hum of the displacement magics intensified. Behind, the rest of the rogue forces were lining up in groups of four, awaiting their turn.

The waypoint flashed again, just as it had when Paige disappeared, and now there she was again, accompanied by Kashya and two of her personal guard. Dana offered the rogue commander her arm and the redhead clasped it in a warrior's salute.

\- "Captain," Paige piped up, "we passed through the jails on our way here. The dark ones…they've done unspeakable things to our sisters. Some of them might still be down there. Please, captain. We have to rescue them."

The commander's face turned grave.

\- "I'll lead a force there myself," she decided, "and then trough the armory to storm the barracks. I want you and the other scouts to remain with the outlanders. Guide them to the catacombs, where the bitch queen has likely made her lair. I promise you, she will not be receiving any reinforcements."

\- "Kashya," the amazon interrupted, "your scouts have done enough already. They have fought bravely and sacrificed much. Perhaps they should help clear the rest of the monastery."

\- "No!" Paige protested. "I wish to make Andariel bleed for what she has done to my people. I will see this through to the end, no matter what. Please, let me fight at your side."

Dana recognized the pride that flared in the young rogue's eyes, and she knew it was useless to deny her. Despite her worries, she felt pride herself; pride in the blossoming warrior before her.

\- "I will be honored to have a stalwart young woman like you as a battle sister."

Paige's fierce demeanor dissipated as she reddened under the amazon's warm gaze.

More and more rogues were teleporting in, filling the courtyard as they organized into warbands.

\- "It's time for us to move," Galen announced to his companions, drawing his sword. "The Great Evils think they can defile our world as they please. Let us show them Sanctuary still has heroes defending it!"

The others roared in approval, all except Cyrus, though he nodded grimly.

\- "I will send a squad of my best to aid you in your fight," Kashya chimed in. "May your gods watch over you, my friends."

Paige's fellow scouts refused to leave her side, and, together with the force assigned to aid them, they led the party through the courtyard to the very doors of the monastery's cathedral. It was once the spiritual center of the sisterhood, but as they opened the gates and entered, they found it ransacked and tainted.

Some of the perpetrators were still there, fallen camping among the ruins of the interior while their shaman shrieked from the pulpit like some raving mad bishop. He and his "congregation" were quickly dispatched to their fiery afterlife.

As he and the others walked beneath the arches of the cathedral, the paladin felt a familiar twinge.

\- "This place reminds me of the great cathedral back home," he remarked.

\- "It was built by the same man, was it not?" Paige inquired as she led them to a staircase near the altar.

\- "Yes, king Rakkis. The man who founded Westmarch."

\- "And the man fool enough to try and conquer the North," Aan added as the party proceeded downwards.

\- "Though he was a pious man, above all else he was a warrior," Galen admitted. "It is good he failed in his last war of conquest. It taught him humility and the importance of statecraft over military glory."

\- "I would have expected you to have nothing but praise for the man who spread your faith west, Zakarumite," Cyrus taunted.

\- "Many try to bend faith into a convenient stepping stone to worldly power, but all they do is set fire to the night and pretend it is the dawn. The teachings of Akarat warn us to resist earthly temptations; they are meant only to provide us with a spiritual path to the better angels of our nature."

\- "This man, Rakkis. He was of your order?" Talia asked.

\- "No, he lived centuries ago," Galen replied. "My order is barely a couple of generations old. My grandfather was among the founders who fled Kurast and established themselves in Westmarch."

\- "You can take the fanatic out of Kurast, but you can't take Kurast out of the fanatic," the necromancer quipped.

\- "You know nothing, death mage," Dana admonished. "If all the children of Zakarum were like the Knights of Westmarch, we would never have had the Times of Trouble."

The paladin said nothing as they finally reached the catacombs. They were deep underground by now, and as they ventured forth into the stifling darkness, it felt like the world itself was on their shoulders. On either side of them skulls looked out from the walls, their frozen grins unmoved by the intruders.

\- "No welcoming party," Paige noted. "The demon queen must have pulled her remaining forces back to defend her."

\- "Then we will strike them down where they stand, and she will know the retribution that awaits her when they lie broken at her feet!" Galen declared as his eyes filled with determination.

\- "You've grown more warlike of late," the amazon remarked.

\- "Violent self-righteousness is always bubbling beneath the surface of a zealot," Cyrus noted. "He can pretend to be a man of peace all he likes; the sword is his trade."

\- "You speak of what you do not know," Dana reprimanded. "He is the gentlest and kindest of us all. We have all dedicated our lives to martial pursuits; not to harm, but to protect."

\- "I never said it was a bad thing," the necromancer replied. "Sanctuary needs warriors. What it doesn't need is sanctimonious hypocrites."

She was about to retort again but the paladin interrupted her.

\- "It's alright, Dana. He's right. You both are. A part of me **does** yearn for this fight. I feel like I've been fighting an invisible enemy for years who has now revealed himself. I can finally see my foe and strike at him directly. So yes, I am eager for the sword-work ahead."

As if to answer the challenge, an eerie glow materialized at the far end of the corridor they were in, and a sound of rattling bones grew louder not just in the distance but all around them. The bones in the walls stirred and whole skeletons emerged menacingly as more of their kind appeared down the hall. At their head was a skeletal mage with hands wreathed in flame, burning ferociously in the dim surroundings.

The rogues and Dana were already shooting at the foes ahead while Galen and Aan took positions to guard the flanks, but arrows proved little more than a nuisance to the undead. The paladin manifested his pristine white aura to provide an impenetrable sanctuary to his allies, and the skeletons that were surfacing from the walls were pushed back and undone by the life energies.

The bone archers and mages, however, were too far to be much affected by the aura. Led by their glowing master, they unleashed a hail of arrows and magical bolts on the party, and Galen no longer had a shield to protect himself or his companions. Two rogues in the front went down under the barrage, while three others were wounded or severely burned. Paige was only saved by the charging corpse of the smith whose massive bulk provided a couple of them with cover. The necromancer's pet seemed no more fazed by arrows than the skeletons, and Aan rushed after him, letting him take the brunt of the enemy's missiles.

The paladin placed himself in front of the others, hoping to let his heavier armor absorb the hits, but he could only really cover Dana. Talia was exposed. The young sorceress saw her peril and focused inwards, channeling the primal force of lightning into herself, until she herself became the lighting.

Before any of the missiles could reach her, she vanished in a flash of burned ozone, and a similar flash behind the skeletons signaled her reappearance. She was already casting another spell as she rematerialized, sapping the heat from the air around her until it froze; she slammed down her staff and a frost nova burst out from underneath her, blasting through the undead ranks with bone-shattering cold. Their limbs frozen in place, they could do nothing as the two charging behemoths smashed into their lines.

Only the glowing skeleton had managed to resist the effects of the ice, and it turned its burning figure to the caster that had devastated its forces. Its blazing hands hurled twin bolts of searing flame that converged onto Talia, but she instinctively manipulated the fire, spinning as she redirected it and fueled it with her own flame before launching it back at the undead mage.

The blast knocked the thing to the ground, but when the smoke cleared it got back on its feet, unharmed. You could not, it seemed, fight fire with fire after all, the sorceress mused.

You could, however, obliterate its skull with a crushing blow from a twohanded mace, as the barbarian swiftly demonstrated.

With the last of the skeletons trampled underfoot by Cyrus' minion, the party could finally look to its wounded.

Two were dead. Some had suffered arrow wounds, others, burns and frostbite from the magical bolts. Galen had taken the brunt of a volley, and though his armor had managed to stave off the worst of it, he had to heal himself first before attending to the others.

No one protested when Cyrus raised what remained of the mess of bones into five skeletal warriors and three bone mages of his own. No one said anything at all; the party made its way forward again in complete silence, their senses on high alert, grim focus written on their faces. 


	17. Chapter 17

It wasn't long before the narrow hallways opened onto a large room at the very deepest part of the catacombs.

The room was brightly lit, torches and bonfires scattered everywhere. To their horror, the party discovered many of the bonfires were actually pyres and stakes where charred bodies still burned. Worse, the walls and pillars were lined with dismembered rogues, torsos, limbs, and heads hanging from hooks or pinned by spears.

But the most horrifying thing of all was at the center of the room: a large pit stood there, filled with blood, looking for all the world as though hell itself had torn a bleeding wound in the earth. More body parts floated in the blood pool, more than could be counted, intertwined in one last gruesome embrace.

Most of the party lost what little remained of their composure when they saw the mound of gore within the pit; some turned deathly pale, some retched on the floor, others still were frozen in shock. Aan dropped his mace, his hand nerveless. Dana had to steady herself on her spear, Talia on her staff as she dry-heaved. Galen had to lean on a pillar, feeling a dizzy spell from the rush of emotions; even at the worst of the war he had never witnessed anything close to such butchery. He could not imagine what was going through the sisters' minds at the sight of their desecrated fallen. Only Cyrus managed to seem unshaken, though even he had to close his eyes and steady his breathing.

Paige had collapsed onto her knees and was shaking like a leaf. Slowly, the shock, grief and terror she felt were burned away and replaced by something else: blind, murderous fury. She no longer cared about her own life or even the safety of the others. She just wanted vengeance. She wanted to rend the demon queen with her bare hands, no matter what it cost her.

\- "Do not give in to fear or anger," the paladin spoke up breathlessly, and he directed his gaze especially to the rogues. "This display is meant to intimidate us, and failing that enrage us. If you want to avenge your sisters, stay focused. It's the only way we'll come out victorious today."

Paige shot to her feet, distantly aware of what the paladin was saying. A distant corner of her mind knew what he was saying was important, that it made some kind of sense, but it was drowned out by the deafening keening that filled her world.

A strong hand clasped her shoulder and she blinked, her eyes regaining focus to make out a concerned amazon.

\- "Stay strong, Paige. I need you clearheaded for the fight ahead."

The young rogue bent her will to bringing her quivering limbs under control and nodded. She looked around at her sisters and tried to guide them by example, knocking an arrow to her bow and assuming a battle-ready stance.

\- "The bitch queen must be just behind those doors," she announced as she moved past the pit, her voice still raw. "The room beyond is the end of the catacombs."

\- "It will be her end as well," the paladin proclaimed and his golden aura grew brighter. "Battle formation!"

The northman and the amazon joined him at the vanguard, while the sorceress and the necromancer took up the flanks and the rogues formed the backline. Aan, Dana and he shared one last look before bursting through the doors with a battle cry.

The chamber was filled with corrupt rogues, fallen and goatmen, tightly packed to defend their mistress, who sat at the far end on a throne made of human bones, flanked by giant spiders.

There was no challenge offered, no gauging of the enemy's strength, no calm before the storm. The three simply tore into the demonic lines like a scythe through a field, while the rogues rained sharp, pointy death around them, preventing the enemy from collapsing upon the trio.

Aan rampaged with the fury of Bul-Kathos himself; Dana struck like lightning before her foes even knew she was there; Galen blade-danced, his sword a sharp and clear song of death. Soon they were joined by Cyrus' minions entering the fray on the left flank, while Talia's fireballs and lightning bolts secured their right. The combined ferocity of their assaults shattered the ranks of the demons, who only stood their ground because they were yet more afraid of their mistress' wrath.

Said mistress gripped one of the skulls that served as an armrest and shattered it. She rose angrily from her throne and strode forward. She towered over everyone in the room, her blood-red hair twisting snake-like in the air, as though it had a life of its own. She wore nothing but a belt of skulls around her waist, and her body, human except for her claws and hooves, oozed both allure and menace, a dangerous and sinful glare reflecting off of her naked skin. The most intimidating part of her, however, were the four appendages that protruded from her back and curled forward like giant spider legs, tipped with scorpion stingers that dripped bright green venom.

Paige and her sisters unleashed a volley against her but the arrows seemed like needles in her massive frame.

\- "Congratulations, maggots," she snarled, "you've succeeded in gaining my attention. Your reward is **death**!"

With that she opened her arms and a sickly miasma steamed from her body, rolling in mist-like waves that began to fill the entire chamber. The air turned foul and both humans and demons began coughing as the noxious fumes entered their lungs. The archers and Talia struggled to breathe, and their second volley was poorly aimed. Only the necromancer seemed unaffected as he directed his minions to engage the last of Andariel's forces.

Those forces were scrambling out of the way as their mistress stalked forward. Aan was struggling to keep his balance when the demon queen was already upon him, rearing her stingers to strike. He grit his teeth and attacked first, hoping to catch her wrong-footed. His gambit worked, and she was taken aback by the leaping barbarian that smashed his mace into her face before she batted him away with her arm.

He rolled with the blow and came at her again, delivering a crushing blow to her hip. Her cry of pain took on tones of ecstasy and she turned a crazed grin at him before grabbing him in one hand, lifting him, then smashing his body down onto the ground. His vision blurry from the combination of the impact and the poison attacking his senses, he looked up to see all four of her appendages poised to deliver the coup de grace.

She was about to strike when she felt a searing pain in her back, where the amazon's spear had lodged itself, and there was no hint of pleasure in her voice this time as the flaming tip burned her from the inside. _A hellspawn that hates fire_, Dana mused inwardly as she disengaged, narrowly avoiding the stinger that sought to skewer her.

Before Andariel could pursue, the paladin was inside the reach of her appendages, a storm of steel and zeal that tore into her forearms as she tried to defend herself. Her lurid skin was actually much tougher than it appeared, and though she bled, the wounds were not too deep. She swung a claw out but he ducked beneath and slashed at her thigh, cutting a long gash that oozed green blood.

He realized his mistake too late as her other leg shot out before he could reposition and he was sent flying back. His helmet landed several feet away as his body tumbled before skidding to a halt.

Andariel again had no opportunity to finish the job as she was set upon by both Aan and Dana, each attacking from one of her flanks so she could not bring all four appendages to bear on either one of them. The northman batted away one stinger and slammed his mace into her knee, whilst the amazon snuck in a quick jab at her calf.

They were trying to cripple her mobility, she realized. Enraged, she turned fully on the barbarian, completely ignoring the amazon despite the scorching wounds her spear was inflicting. Aan pulled out his axe and dual wielded his weapons but the Maiden of Anguish had twice as many appendages; he desperately batted away at the stingers, but before long one snuck past his defense and pierced his torso. Grunting in pain, he hefted his axe to try and sever the appendage but he suddenly felt like molten metal was being poured into his veins as the stinger spread its toxin.

This was nothing like the poison the Lesser Evil had filled the room with; this was raw agony distilled into liquid form, a torrent of excruciating pain that flooded one's body and drowned one's mind. He fell to the ground with a strangled cry, gasping for air, his limbs spasming.

Andariel turned back to Dana who had just delivered a series of jabs to her exposed back. She retaliated with jabs of her own, launching her stingers in quick succession to catch the amazon out, but despite the poison slowing her down the Askari had lightning-quick reflexes and she dodged every blow cleanly, though that was all she could do. Her frustration mounting, the demon queen snarled and ceased her assault.

\- "Let's see you dodge the very air around you!" she taunted with a sinister smile and she inhaled deeply before vomiting a thick green cloud into the amazon's face. Dana retreated but there was no way to avoid the expanding fog of concentrated poison. Even when she covered her mouth and nose it infiltrated her pores and burned her eyes.  
She collapsed onto a pillar, gagging and retching.

Andariel strode forward, ignoring the renewed barrage by Talia and the rogues to stab a stinger, then another, then another into the fallen amazon's back, who twitched on the floor like a freshly caught fish.

Satisfied she was rid of another enemy, she set her gaze on the human backline, but to reach them, she first had to get past the paladin, who had regained his feet.

Strangely, his eyes were closed. His aura was shifting, the fierce golden color fading into a pale blue light that moved like the lapping of waves. The waves washed over his allies; suddenly burning lungs began to breathe freely again, boiling blood began to cool, and agony was washed away with each surge of the aura.

The archers began to find their mark again, using flaming arrows, and Talia's fireballs struck true. Andariel roared at the renewed vigor of their assault and charged, intent on slaughtering them before they could do her any more harm; much as she relished pain, her injuries were starting to become severe.

Galen gripped Providence firmly and stood his ground. He knew he could not overpower the demon queen without his aura of divine might, but his allies needed his cleansing powers; he would have to rely on strategy instead of brute force in order to buy time; time for his aura to work its magic on Aan and Dana.

His towering foe was already upon him, lashing out at him with all four of her stingers. He took one small jump backwards as they slammed into the floor, before jumping forward again to hack at the appendages, scoring a couple of gashes. She pulled them back to strike again but he was already dashing between her legs when she attacked, slashing at her left knee before emerging on the other side, turning around and stabbing the small of her back.

She screamed, though again there was a shade of euphoria behind the pain. He anticipated the spinning backhand he knew she would instinctively throw, looking at her feet to detect which side it would come from, and when it came, he hacked down at it.

Providence bit deep into the wrist, thought it did not have enough force to sever it. Andariel swiveled to bring her opposite stingers to bear, but the paladin turned with her, running to her right to keep her off-balance. She swung her two right appendages wide to try to bat him away, but he rolled forward beneath the swing and came up lunging, stabbing his sword straight into her abdomen. Before he could pull it out, however, her oversized claw shot out snake-fast to grab his arms, immobilizing him. He tried to wrench himself free but her grip was stronger than steel.

\- "Yes, squirm for me," she urged and slowly raked her claws on his exposed head. "Now scream for me." He tried to stifle his cries of pain so as not to give her the satisfaction but found it impossible.

He was offered a reprieve when another volley slammed into her face, but she curled her appendages together in front of her to form a shield and resumed digging her claws into Galen again.

The distraction had allowed Galen to breathe, and he caught a glimpse of something stirring to his left; his pained scream turned into a furious shout as his aura once again shifted, blazing back to its glorious golden hue. Andariel suddenly found him breaking her grip and he twisted Providence in her belly before wrenching it free with one sharp tug as she doubled over.

She looked up at him with a grimace that turned into a sneer as her appendages struck in rapid succession; her posture allowed her to better make use of them, and she staggered her blows to prevent him from countering. The mounting pressure of her attacks pushed him back as he parried stinger after stinger, but he knew that even with the speed and power afforded him by the light he was on the verge of being overwhelmed. He steeled his resolve and, just after deflecting one stinger he spun, leaving his right side exposed and accepting the coming blow there, while putting all his power into an overhead chop directed at the stinger coming in from the other side.

Andariel's upper right appendage was sliced clean off as her lower left one punctured Galen's brigandine and gambeson and buried itself in his waist. Both combatants uttered a cry of pain and separated.

The demon queen stared with disbelief at the stump where the stinger used to be. The paladin fell to one knee, summoning all his willpower to try and shape his lifeforce into a light of purification before the darkness took him. His vision blurred, his limbs shook, but he leaned on his sword and placed a glowing palm on his wound to purify it. He knew that if he allowed himself to succumb there would be no one to remedy the Lesser Evil's poisons, and they would all die in unspeakable suffering.

A shriek of rage warned him that he had but a few instants before Andariel would be on him again, but his senses were returning too slowly. He closed his eyes, praying fervently to the Heavens to grant his allies strength.


	18. Chapter 18

The paladin's prayers were answered; the Maiden of Anguish was upon him when a revitalized northman crashed into her side. Galen used the distraction to rush to Dana's side; she had not stirred despite his cleansing aura, which meant there was too much venom in her system and she would die if he didn't tend to her swiftly.

Andariel shrieked as Aan grabbed onto her remaining right appendage and hacked away at it. She spun to try to reach him, to shake him off, but her limbs could not reach where he was and his grip was ironclad. A final axe blow severed the appendage completely, acidic blood splattering and eating away at the barbarian's armor, but he was not done. He leaped onto her shoulder and buried his axe there to gain leverage. She grabbed him viciously with both claws, trying to pull him off while squeezing the life out of him, but he kept one hand on his axe to remain close to her face; with the other, he pulled out his mace and proceeded to smash it into her head.

**SLAM  
**  
She stabbed one of her stingers into his back but even the venom did not make him relent.

**SLAM  
**  
\- "I AM KO'KAL OF THE THUNDER TRIBE!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs, punctuating his blows.

**SLAM  
**  
Another stinger pierced him.

\- "TELL YOUR MASTERS THAT NAME WHEN YOU SEE THEM AGAIN!"

**SLAM  
**  
\- "AND TELL THEM THEY'RE NEXT!"

**SLAM**

Screeching in pain, her head a bleeding mess, she summoned all her strength to wrench the northman off her and throw him into a nearby pillar. He bounced off the stone and crashed into the ground, his helm rolling away with a clang. He tried to rise back up but the venom was overwhelming his nerves and sapping him of his vigor.

With no more concern for accidentally hitting one of their allies, the rogues unleashed a storm of arrows on Andariel, who decided to silence them once and for all. She shielded herself with her two left appendages and charged.

She only made it halfway there before the demonic corpses at her feet burst in an explosion of bone and gore that shredded her legs. She stumbled, fell to her knees, and before she could rise again skeleton warriors were swarming her, along with what she recognized as the undead cadaver of her demonic smith, and a gruesome golem made from the remains of her pet spiders. She raised her arms and appendages to protect herself from their blows as well as from the unrelenting barrage of arrows and magic.

In the meantime, Galen had reached Dana, and he bundled her up in his arms. To his horror, he could not detect any breathing. His pulse raced as he enveloped her in his cleansing aura, muttering to her, to himself, to the heavens, to whoever could hear.

\- "I'm here…come back to me…don't go…please…bring her back to me…stay with me I beg you…don't go."

He knew there was too much venom in her, but he also needed to heal the damage already done, not to mention the gaping wounds in her back. As he felt the last of the toxins be purged from his own system, he looked inward again, praying for the twin lights of purity and life to become one.

He had done it before, merging auras into one that was stronger: he had fueled the fire of physical might with the unbound wind of vigor; he had learned to blend the colors of protection against the elements; he had discovered the light of healing could be a weapon against the undead; he would do it again. He stoked the pristine waves until they surged brighter and brighter still, until their gentleness became jubilant, and the pale blue blazed to white, and the waves turned into a radiant heartbeat. When he opened his eyes, his aura was a song of untainted life that burned away impurities and breathed renewal into body and soul.

Rage bubbled up in Andariel. Her venomous blood boiled at the humiliation she was suffering at the hands of these mere mortals.

She threw her head back and unleashed a banshee-like shriek as a massive poison nova burst from her body, traveling in all directions, slamming into everyone in the room.

The barrage ceased as the archers had to fight off the effects of the poison. The skeletons were completely unfazed by the nova, but they were the first to fall to the demon queen's second wind as she smashed them with her two appendages, then savagely tore into the zombie smith and the golem with her claws.

When all the necromancer's pets lay broken and tattered, she bounded forward, hungry for more blood, and was soon upon the archers who were now disorganized. Some retreated before her, some struggled for breath, others still powered through the poison to shoot at her. She mauled one rogue with her claws before seizing another. The captured rogue's scream was cut short as Andariel's other hand grabbed her head and twisted, snapping her neck.

A bone spear slammed into the demon's shoulder, and she followed its spectral trail back to Cyrus, who was the least affected by the poison. She discarded the dead rogue's corpse like a ragdoll and stalked towards the necromancer, who uttered a decrepifying curse to slow her down. She felt her limbs become heavier, but her rage pushed her forward and she buried one of her stingers in the death mage's belly.

He dropped to his knees, coughing up blood, but the steel in his eyes did not fade and he grabbed the appendage that pierced his gut, his curse intensifying. Necrotic energy traveled up from his hand and her entire limb began to age rapidly, the surface wrinkling as it was sapped of its vitality. The demon queen pushed the stinger harder to rip through his entrails but a ray of frost magic suddenly appeared on her appendage, the ice rapidly expanding from the point of contact. The already crumbling limb quickly froze and shattered when Andariel tried to pull it away.

Cyrus looked to his right to see Talia summoning the beam from her staff. She offered him an encouraging smile but her face fell as the Maiden of Anguish's shadow loomed over her.

She was now the target of the demon's fury, and she had to summon all her courage to resist the urge to simply turn tail and flee. She flung fireball after fireball at Andariel to try to stave off her advance but neither the severe burns she left nor the arrow wounds inflicted by the rogues made the demon queen so much as flinch as she lunged her last appendage straight at the sorceress' heart.

But it wasn't Talia whose cry echoed in the room. It wasn't her bloody gurgle that sent a shiver of panic along Galen's spine.

Paige had stepped in to shield the Zann-Esu with her own body, and Andariel's stinger now lay embedded in her chest. She placed weak and trembling hands to try to push it away but the demon queen slammed her down, pinning her to the floor as she pushed the stinger deeper, all the while staring at Talia with a sadistic smile.

The sorceress screamed Paige's name, and at the sound of her voice Dana stirred to wakefulness in the paladin's arms. She was just in time to witness Andariel draw another breath and spew her toxic mist all over Talia and the rogues behind her.

Another scream burst from the battle-mage's small frame as the poisonous wind blew her hair back and entered her bloodstream, but this time the grief was mixed with excruciating pain, and one other thing: white hot fury; fury that manifested itself in a raging inferno that shot forth from her staff and into Andariel's gaping mouth. The poison breath ignited and fire burst within the demon, the blast scorching her entire face and neck and burning deep into her core.

The Maiden of Anguish screamed as she pulled back, flailing as the flames still ate at her. Talia was in barely better shape as her breath came in short and ragged, her lungs on fire. She managed to stay on her feet, and Andariel turned her murderous gaze back to her.

The Zann-Esu recalled one of her mentor's lessons. _Sometimes, fight and flight are the same thing_.

She slammed her staff down before her and the ground beneath her feet blazed to life. The Lesser Evil had barely started towards her that she ran with all the strength left in her limbs, leaving raging fire in her wake. She ran as Andariel stalked after her, so blinded by revenge that she ignored the burns she suffered from the sorceress' blistering trail. She ran still as she began casting another spell while the demon queen gained on her and reached out to grab her.

Just as the clawed hand clenched to seize her, she vanished in a flash of static, teleporting to the other side of the room, where her legs finally gave out.

Andariel roared with frustration. She was horribly injured, and though she would heal fully within a day, she knew there were more rogues in the monastery; she had to get rid of these pests quickly or she would be in no shape to repel another assault. Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of running footsteps behind her.

\- "Help Paige!" Dana screamed as she charged at the demon queen. The paladin complied and dashed towards the fallen rogue as the amazon engaged her weakened foe.

His heart sank when he got there. Paige lay on the floor, a gaping wound in her chest, blood streaming from her lips, her eyes glazed yet still moving.

\- "Paige, hold on!" he cried as he cradled her body and began trying to cure and heal her. The rogue was at death's door and in his heart, he doubted anything he did would save her. He desperately pushed the doubt aside and intensified his aura.

Paige turned her glassy eyes to him and tried to speak, but only gurgles came out. "Shhh, don't say anything," he urged. "I'm here. Just rest, I'll have you back on your feet in no time. Your sisters are waiting for you upstairs. Just hold on."

He was interrupted by a scream and he turned to see Dana perched on Andariel's shoulders, her spear jammed into the demon's left eye. The Maiden of Anguish pulled the amazon off of her with both hands and squeezed while slamming her last stinger into her side. This time it was Dana's turn to scream.

Galen's panicked eyes flew from the rogue in his arms to the amazon in Andariel's grip. He could not bear the idea of leaving Paige to die, but the thought of abandoning Dana to her fate, of his Dana dying when he could come to her rescue was inconceivable. His mind raced, praying to all the powers of Heaven to come to his aid, to help him save both of his companions. Aan was unconscious, Talia and Cyrus could no longer stand, the rogues were struggling to breathe. He felt as powerless as the day he got his first real taste of war, watching helplessly as allies and enemies, friends and strangers died by the hundreds all around him.

His soul was beginning to tear in half when he felt a weak touch on his face. He looked down and saw Paige's fading eyes staring peacefully up at him.

\- "Go…to her," she muttered weakly through globs of blood. "Dana…Save… Dana."

A sob wracked his body as he clenched his teeth and tears poured down his cheeks. He grabbed her hand and kissed it before placing it on her chest.

\- "I'm sorry," he whispered in a raw voice, then grabbed his sword and ran. He charged straight at Andariel, his battle cry a scream of grief and revenge, his aura turning to gold and blazing brighter and brighter as he gained more and more speed, until his blade was a streak of light.

Providence pierced the demon queen's abdomen the same place it had before and she dropped the amazon as she was pushed back. The paladin kept pressing, driving his sword all the way to the hilt. Caustic blood gushed from the open wound and oozed onto his hands. He grunted in pain, trying to keep a hold on the hilt, but he was forced to let go before the acid ate all the way to his bones.

Andariel could feel her life escaping her, but she refused to let herself be killed by these upstart mortals who thought they could stand up to the power of Hell. She reached out to snuff the life of the insolent knight before her but he grabbed her claws with his hands, resisting her despite the enormous difference in size. She slammed her stinger into his side, once, twice, thrice, and he went down to one knee, but still he would not yield, his hands locking hers in place.

\- "You can't win!" she laughed with a deranged sense of triumph, pushing her stinger deeper into his body. "I will feast on your remains and grow strong again! I AM THE QUEEN OF HELL! YOU CAN'T KILL ME!"

\- "You're right. I can't," he replied with startling calm, despite the venom choking his breath. "But she can."

So bent on the paladin was Andariel's focus that she had not seen Dana stumble back to her feet. She had not seen her pick up her spear and run. The only thing she saw was the amazon using Galen's shoulder as a stepping stone to leap upwards and drive the flaming spear into her already scorched throat.

That was also the last thing she saw, as Dana pushed the spear tip deeper and deeper, incinerating the demon queen's upper body from the inside. Andariel fell and began to burn, fire traveling along her wounds, the flames licking at her inert body.

The amazon stumbled back towards the paladin. She kneeled down beside him and took him in her arms, helping to steady him.

\- "Galen…you need to cleanse everyone…hurry."

A white light shimmered around his frame, signaling to her that he acknowledged her words.

-"Dana…I'm so sorry," he whispered, his face downcast, tears glistening in the fire that consumed their enemy's remains. "I left Paige…I couldn't let you fight alone…help me up…I have to go to her." The amazon's eyes widened with panic. They rose together, each helping to steady the other, and frantically inched their way to where Paige's body lay.

When they got there, they fell back to their knees. The young rogue lay still, her chest unmoving, her eyes lost in space. The paladin knew he would be too late, but the confirmation still broke his heart.

Dana was too tired to cry. The tears simply poured down her weary face. A part of her just wanted to lay down and join Paige in her eternal rest, join Lydia, but duty held too firm a grip on the rest of her. She closed the rogue's eyes and prayed silently for her to be reborn one day in the fires of Hefaetrus, so they could meet again.

\- "It's my fault," Galen muttered. "I failed her."

Dana grabbed his face and pressed her forehead to his.

\- "No. None of us would be alive without you. Thank the gods for you."

\- "Galen!" Talia's voice flitted over. The paladin turned to see the sorceress had crawled her way to the unconscious form of the barbarian, and was trying to wake him, with no success. "He needs help!"

Galen rose and hurried as best he could to her side, hoping he was not too late this time. His aura had already alleviated the worst of the effects on the rogues, who now huddled closer to him, helping Dana and Cyrus do so as well.

The survivors were soon all gathered around the paladin, basking in his light as he tended to the northman, and all silently joined their prayers to his. 


	19. Chapter 19

Once again Galen woke up in a sweat. Once again, he gratefully let reality wash away the bloodied faces that haunted his dreams. Once again, he turned to find Dana's bed empty.

He did not need to look to know that the third bed, the one that would have housed the barbarian, was empty as well. He was alone. He rose and put on his gambeson and boots, then grabbed one of the furs off his bed and wrapped himself in it.

Exiting the room, he quietly wandered the halls of the barracks, not wishing to disturb the well-earned sleep of the rogues in their quarters. He walked the path Paige had led them through in reverse, memories of the brave young rogue flashing in his mind. They had all said their goodbyes, burying those who fell in battle once they had made Eastgate safe, before collapsing in their beds from exhaustion; still, he was still haunted by the vision of her death.

He was soon out of the barracks and making his way to the outer cloister. The still moonlight that had once bathed this courtyard had been replaced with the dull grey light of early dawn as he stepped onto the grass, lost in thought. His gaze flitted upwards, looking up to the fading stars; he could still make out the Hunter's belt, but his eyes caught a familiar figure on the walls of the monastery.

He set off at a stride towards the stairs that led to the ramparts and made his way up to find the amazon, wrapped in her fur-lined cloak, staring upwards at the Hunter, just as he had been. He approached discreetly, a part of him feeling like an intruder.

\- "I was wondering when you'd wake up," Dana greeted him.

\- "Someday, you're going to have to tell me how you do that," Galen replied as he walked up and stood by her side.

\- "I can hear a leaf fall in the forest and smell a young buck from a mile away", she boasted.

\- "Am I the young buck in this metaphor?" he asked with a smirk.

\- "Don't worry, I'm hunting bigger game at the moment. Though perhaps once the lord of terror is dealt with…I must admit, you'd make a fine prize," she suggested as she turned to look at him. Her eyes were playful.

\- "I... don't know whether to be flattered or scared," he whispered bashfully and was rewarded with a grin.

\- "You're much too easy to tease. Takes all the fun out of it," she complained with feigned disapproval.

\- "I'm sorry I don't have your dazzling wit," he retorted. "Are all amazons trained in the art of flustering men?"

\- "On Skovos, we learn to spar with our words first, our weapons second. Any Askari warrior worth her salt keeps her tongue as sharp as her spear."

\- "No wonder your tongue is so honed, then; it has to compete with the spear that slew Andariel."

\- "You should've seen Lydia," she replied wistfully. "She could dance around everyone else with her words."

\- "You did her proud, you know," he affirmed in a gentle tone.

\- "And your grandfather must be smiling down on you from your Heavens," she responded in kind.

An image of Paige's face as she lay dying in his arms flashed in his mind, and his mood soured despite Dana's words.

\- "I'm so sorry you had to lose another battle sister. That's the second time I haven't managed to save someone dear to you."

Without warning she turned to him and embraced him, making him drop his fur to the ground in surprise.

\- "You're someone dear to me," she whispered against his ear. "Thank Athulua I still have you."

He suddenly felt very warm, despite the morning chill that now freely blew against his back. He gave in to the embrace and wrapped his arms around her as she wrapped her cloak around him. Neither of them moved until the first light of the sun touched their faces.

When they separated, her smiling face was illuminated by the dawn, and something inside him knew this image would stay with him all his life. He tried to take in as much of that moment as he could while it lasted.

Then it was gone, dispelled by the sound of her stomach complaining loudly. Her eyes widened with embarrassment and the early silence echoed with his laughter. She punched him good-humoredly, her attempt at a stern face utterly unconvincing.

\- "Mayhap milady would like me to escort her to the dining hall?" he offered.

\- "Just move it, you honey-tongued pretty boy," she replied. 

* * *

The dining hall was already somewhat crowded when they arrived. Rogues shared breakfast or traveled to and from the kitchen with full and empty plates. A familiar voice hailed them as they made their way in.

\- "Galen! Dana! Over here!" the exuberant northman called out as he waved to them. Before him was a breakfast worthy of a king. Seated next to him was Charsi, whose face was beaming even more so than usual. The paladin and the amazon joined them.

\- "I knew you'd beat us here," Galen remarked. "I'm glad to see Andariel's venom has not dulled your appetite."

\- "It's all thanks to you, friend Galen. I thought I'd be in Bul-Kathos's mead hall by now, recounting my exploits to the ancestors."

\- "I'm sure you have more interesting exploits to share now," Dana said with a knowing look towards Charsi, who blushed.

\- "And how did you two enjoy your first night alone?" the northman rejoined with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I'm sure you were glad for the privacy when I moved in with Charsi." It was their turn to blush now. "How about it, shieldmaiden? Did you make a man of our young lad?"

\- "I tried, but his chastity belt is too well made, I'm afraid," the amazon replied playfully.

\- "It's just as well. We wouldn't want me to lose my powers," the paladin commented snidely.

\- "That's a shame," the barbarian replied. "You won't get another chance for some time. Warriv's caravan should be arriving within the day, and once we set out for the east, we'll all be sharing a wagon."

\- "This soon?" Galen deftly changed the subject as he and Dana dug into their meals.

\- "Well you all did sleep for an entire day" Charsi chimed in. "Warriv has been on the Rakkisroad since the morning after you liberated the monastery. Akara insisted he leave for Lut Gholein as early as possible. She said time was against you in your hunt for the Lord of Terror. Which reminds me, I took the liberty of repairing your weapons and armors. This one's axe was so badly corroded by Andariel's blood I had to forge him a new one," she said, pointing at the northman, who beamed with delight. "And since you managed to find the Horadric Malus for me," she continued excitedly, "I was even able to add some enchantments. That magnificent blade you found in Tristram deserved the same treatment, Galen, I hope you don't mind."

\- "Not at all," he replied. "Thank you, Charsi. You've been too kind to us. What did you enchant it with, if I may ask?"

\- "That," she said with a wink, "is for me to know and you to find out."

Before he could press her for more information a bleary-eyed sorceress plopped herself down next to him, her sleepy gaze surveying the world around her accusingly for being too bright and loud.

\- "Good morning, Talia," he said with a chuckle.

She mumbled something unintelligible in return and eyed the food before her contemplatively before snatching a plate.

\- "Is Cyrus still sleeping?" the amazon wondered aloud.

\- "No," replied the northman. "I woke hours before you and he was already up and deep in conversation with Akara. Some people take better to being poisoned, I guess," he laughed, throwing a glance at the sorceress.

\- "You're one to talk," Talia grumbled. "You're much too cheerful for someone who came so close to death."

\- "What can I say, my body adapts quickly," he responded. "Besides, coming face to face with your own mortality gives you a better appreciation for life."

\- "Something tells me we'll be doing a lot of appreciating in the days to come," Dana quipped.

\- "All the more reason to follow Aan's example," added Galen. "Or, is it Ko'kal now? I trust we've earned the right to refer to you by your true name?"

\- "They're both my name," the barbarian replied with a sudden fire in his eyes. "I am Ko'kal Aan, Ko'kal Son of No One, Ko'kal the Fatherless. That is what my tribe have called me since I was a child, and I will wear it with honor. I do not need glorious forefathers to take pride in my name. I will win enough glory for myself."

\- "You don't have a father?" Talia asked. Any trace of her morning surliness was gone.

\- "You have earned the right to my name. Not my story," Ko'kal replied mysteriously.

\- "Fine," she huffed. "Keep your secrets."

\- "There'll be plenty of time to pry it from him," the paladin interjected. "We have a long road ahead of us. It may be weeks before we reach Lut Gholein."

\- "I'll be sad to see you all go," Charsi piped up. "I almost wish Warriv would delay one more day."

\- "You just want one more night with me," Ko'kal boasted and she turned beet red. "Why wait? We probably have a couple of hours before they arrive."  
With that, he grabbed her hand and excused himself, dragging her along as she did her best to avoid the others' stares. 

* * *

It was late afternoon when the caravans arrived at Eastgate.

Cyrus could see the long trail of wagons stretching across the Tamoe highlands like some giant serpent. Many would not be continuing east immediately. Warriv's convoy alone would start its journey within the hour, stopping only to deliver supplies to the monastery. The necromancer was glad the caravaneer had been amenable to Akara's demands for haste. They needed as much of a head start as possible if they were going to catch up to Diablo. It was all he could think about ever since the priestess had told him of the Prime Evil's return.

Cyrus was not looking forward to being in such close quarters with others for what would probably be weeks, but they had proven to be dependable allies, and he would need allies against the Lord of Terror. He sighed, enjoying the last moment of privacy he would have for some time, before making his way down from the tower he had spent the day in. The others would be about ready to go by now.

The courtyard was bustling with activity when he got there, teamsters unloading crates and barrels while others readied the wagons for the coming voyage. The rogue leadership was also present, overseeing the departure of the heroes who had come to their aid in their darkest hour.

\- "Ah, Cyrus," Akara called out when she saw him. "We were waiting for you."

\- "Have you gathered your things?" Warriv asked.

\- "All I have to my name I carry with me now," the priest of Rathma replied.

\- "Then we're ready to move," the caravaneer announced.

\- "Thank you again for everything you have done, outlanders," Kashya declared. "We owe you a debt that can never be repaid. You will always have a place among the Sisters of the Sightless Eye."

\- "You carry with you the hopes of all mankind," the Priestess added. "I know your shoulders are strong enough for the load. I will pray for your triumph every day."

Dana seized Kashya's forearm, Ko'kal gave Charsi one last passionate kiss, and Akara offered Talia words of encouragement. The rogues that had gathered to see them off gave a cheer.

\- "Well come on, are we moving or not?" a voice called out from one of the nearby wagons, and Deckard Cain's bald head peaked out from behind the canvas. "I'm not getting any younger, you know."

\- "Deckard!" the sorceress exclaimed. "What do you think you're doing?"

\- "I told you I would help you wherever your journeys took you, and I intend to keep that promise," He answered.

\- "Our road will be fraught with peril, elder," Galen objected.

\- "I will brook no argument. I am the last of the Horadrim; this is my burden to bear too. Steel and spell will only carry you so far…you will need my wisdom to face this ancient evil. Don't worry, I will stay where it's safe and leave the fighting to you."

The paladin knew a lost battle when he saw one. He signaled for the others to climb aboard while the last of the drivers were finding their seats. He took one last look at the monastery as the gates were opened, wondering if he would ever pass through this place again on his way home to Westmarch. Then, he joined his companions.

By the time the caravan left the monastery behind, the east was dark and the Rakkisroad ahead was bloodred with the light of the setting sun, as the fulcrum of the Eternal Conflict spun in the endless void. 


End file.
